


In Want of An Omega

by Attorney C (arh581958)



Series: Acknowledged Truth [2]
Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Alive!Grammy, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Pride and Prejudice Fusion, Confident!Mike, Day5 - Pride and Prejudice, Edith Ross is Alive, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Harvey POV, Harvey-centric, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining, Pride and Prejudice References, Sexual Tension, Shy!Mike, Slow Build, Surprisingly No One Is An Asshole, Vulnerable!Harvey, courting, emotional!Harvey, feels!Harvey, goodbro!Louis, marveyweek, pining!Harvey, protective!Jessica
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2018-07-21 17:17:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7396447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arh581958/pseuds/Attorney%20C
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alpha Harvey finally gets his name on the wall of Pearson Specter Litt. He's achieved everything that he ever wanted, and now, at 40, he decides that it's the right time to start looking for a mate. In comes Mike, a daring, feisty, and outspoken omega, who happens to be wearing wide ties. </p><p>(Or: the Jane Austen 'Pride and Prejudice'&'Persuasion' with a dash of A/B/O because there aren't enough!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Want of An Omega

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Universally Acknowledged Truth](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6776071) by [Attorney C (arh581958)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arh581958/pseuds/Attorney%20C). 



> Originally Poster: 10 July 2016
> 
> At long last, it's here, it's finally here! Here it is; as promised, the remix of A Universally Acknowledged Truth and Part II of Acknowledged Truth series, told in Harvey's perspective. 
> 
> This goes out to everyone who read, liked, commented, and bookmarked the previous story. You will need to read that in order to understand this. It's looking at everything from Harvey's perspective, and covers _where the hell was Harvey the whole time_ questions. 
> 
> **About This Universe:**  
>  #1. It's pretty much the modern-world with hints of the a regency-eque culture of courting, mating, and spinsterhood. The ideal age for marriage is discussed within the story itself. Availability for courting is displayed through clothing preferences. Modern world being the world we live in today with all our gadgets, technologies, etc. with an ABO-twist to human biology. Regency-esque culture being the emphasis for traditions and customs (mostly of the upper-middle and higher class).  
> #2. Male omegas show their availability to be courted through their ties; skinny for available and broad for unavailable/uninterested. While their is no specific age to shift from skinny to broad, it is typical for omegas to change ties between ages 30-35 when the 'prime' of their fertility has passed. Some omegas, who choose not to have partners earlier in life, change during their younger years. Others, never change at all. There no rule which forbids and omega to shift back to skinny ties. It is, however, a rare occurrence.  
> #3. Alphas are expected to follow these customs, especially those who belong to high society. An alpha, acting outside the consent of an omega, is considered dishonorable, and can be grounds for legal reparations.
> 
>  **Warnings** : There's always an implied warning of dubious consent in all ABO stories. Since, this has not been explicitly used as a plot device, I chose not to tag it. I mean, after all, this story is pretty much all about consent which ironically created the dilemma in the first place. (SPOILERS: Further warnings are below.)
> 
> Thank you to Buzzwell for beta read and HardleyF for the third reading. They have been with me in this journey since the first story. Give them love, guy, this story will be lost in a plot-blackhole and grammar soup without them!
> 
> ***
> 
> UPDATE: 10 December 2017
> 
> A year after this was written, I woke up today to finally write the revision that have bugged me ever since I posted it. Quick background; this story was written for MarveyWeek, during which I crammed 7-stories in 1-week--1 story per day. It was tough and I was very lucky to make it. However, it came at the expense of some stories being rushed. I reread and reviewed the original story [A Universally Acknowledged Truth](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6776071), and finally tied all the loopholes, plot holes, and idea holes in this story. Hopefully, you all enjoy the **NEW 4,000** included. 
> 
> Love, Arh!

Alpha Specter, the youngest name partner of the prestigious Pearson Specter Litt, was a man of honor and affluence. He may not have been born with a golden spoon but he worked hard towards it ever since he was given a life changing opportunity. It was his pride as an alpha not to be born with privileged life but rather as an alpha who acquired it.

At 40, he finally reached the ripe age of finding someone to mate and marry. Most alphas found mates in the latter part of their lives because they opted to find success and stability before starting a family. He made the decision that it was time to find his omega.

Society today may no longer have the black-and-white era of house-omegas and business-alphas but the universal truth still remained; he was in want of an Omega. His announcement ran in several of New York’s most reputable newspapers, courtesy of his cunning no-nonsense female alpha assistant Donna. Omegas of every stature imaginable called upon his doorstep. He should never doubt her competence. Sometimes, it was a little _too_ competent.  

“… consider my proposal.” The omega in front of Harvey completed his ten-minute long presentation on the benefits and merits of courting him over other omegas, stopping exactly on the ten-minute mark before lowering his head in proper submissive presentation. Clearly, he was of high pedigree.

Harvey eyed the omega carefully; tall, male, with long hair pulled up in a man-bun, a fashion choice that he would never understand. He glanced down at the perfectly knotted Prince Albert skinny tie spoke volumes of the boy’s upbringing. Liam Colson was the son of Jessica’s client—newly presented and taught to be the perfect omega, but years too young for Harvey to even consider. It felt like cradle robbing the seventeen-year-old.

“Thank you for your proposal, Mr. Colson,” he said genially but with little deviation from his professional tone. “It was an honor to hear your presentation.” Nearly a month since his announcement, he’s been turning down omegas one by one. Some might even say that he mastered the art of rejection. If the boy’s scent said anything, a rejection wouldn’t be wrong. “But I cannot return your intentions.”

A wave of relief came through Liam’s scent. Harvey held back his comment out of respect. Even one of New York’s best finishing schools, couldn’t train an omega’s natural scent responses.

“I will be sure to send your mother my deepest apologies. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

“It’s alright,” Liam mumbled, breaking his character for the first time in their meeting, “I—thank you, Alpha Specter.” He bowed his head. Tension melted from his body before he said anything else. “I hope you, uhm, find your omega.”

Harvey gave the kid a small smile. “And I wish for you to find your alpha, Mr. Colson.” The small tint on Liam’s cheeks told him everything he needed to know. “And, a word of advice if I may; I do wish that you can tell your mother that you’ve already found your mate. It’s the 20th century, I believe omegas can have an equal right to choose their partner as they wish.”

Liam beamed, his _happy_ scent mingling with the omega-enhancers he wore on his skin. Harvey hated those things—the faux omega scent that supposedly would lure an alpha. It never worked for him. He didn’t grow up with them. He spent a majority of his childhood working his way up, and the omegas he encountered could never afford to splurge on something so unnecessary. Wouldn’t it be nice to find an omega who shared the same views?

“Donna,” he called over the intercom when the omega stood up, “see to it that Mr. Colson has a cab waiting for him downstairs.” He didn’t wait for her reply to know that she did it, then he turned to face Liam again. “You have a good day. I hope to see you and your alpha at the next gathering of PSL clients.”

Liam offered him one last fleeting smile before leaving.

“ _Something wrong, Harvey_?” Donna’s voice crackled over the speaker.

Harvey rubbed his hands over his face and rested his chin on his palm. “I think we need to streamline this process. I cannot waste my billable time with omegas _coming outside of their free will_. He’s the second one today who’s the omega offspring of a PSL client.”

Donna’s hard keyboard strokes can be minutely heard in the background. “ _Alright. I’ve booked conference rooms C and F indefinitely for today. I’ll interview them before sending them up to your office but we’ve got to make an announcement of some sort that you only want_ willing omegas.”

Harvey pinched his temples. In this day and age, he thought that willingness would be a given and that old practices of forcing omegas to mate were out of date. He was sorely disappointed.

“Yes, Donna, that’d be perfect.”

Donna turned around and winked at him saucily from the other side of the glass wall. “Of course, Harvey, this is what you pay me for.”

“And get me some neutralizer spray. One important thing that they all seem to forget is that I didn’t grow up with all this. These enhancers are killing me here.”

***

Back when Harvey was studying for the bar exams, there had been a boy a few years younger than him in Harvard—blond, blue eyes, and the most asymmetric lopsided grin that he’d ever seen. He was fascinated watching the boy bite his pencil from a distance with a mound of books overflowing his desk. He didn’t even know the boy’s second gender but he wished, hoped, and prayed that it was _omega_.

Too slow and too late, he never got the boy’s name. He couldn’t distract himself from his ticket to success. He studied for months, in-between the assisting Prof. Bedard in International Law and finishing his thesis dissertation. That boy kept coming back to haunt him. There were days that his eyes played tricks on him—quiet nights, long days—he’d see the boy walking down the PSL corridors.

But, no, that omega was long gone.

***

Harvey was never too fond of balls—too stiff, too formal, too much like they haven’t left the Victorian Era. Presentation Balls, parties specifically arranged to mimic royal courts, were on the top of that list. Pearson Specter Litt annually hosted two seasonal balls—one in the summer and one in the fall.

It was a business move on Jessica’s part, and Havey cannot say that he wouldn’t have done the same. The two alpha name partners were highly in-demand on court and ripe to be mated. Clients old and new came. Some eagerly brought their young offspring in hopes of enticing one of the men. In true alpha-fashion, both men upped their ante and presented themselves with sophistication and charisma.

“Next time we host a party like this, I want scent-blockers and neutralizers in the air filtration system.” Harvey said, stepping beside his mentor and business partner beside the railing. On the ledge, they saw the entire sea of guests. He hid his approving smile behind the glass of whiskey. “So this was your plan all along? Dangle us in front of clients? Dick move, Jessica, dick move.”

Jessica smiled against the rim of her champagne glass. Her eyes danced with amusement. “Ohh, it’s a brilliant move, Harvey. They’re eating you guys up like an all-you-can-eat alpha buffet. If they aren’t here for your brains, they’re definitely here for your knots. Business hasn’t been better. Times may have changed by societies rules remain the same, Harvey. You know this better than anyone else I know.”

Harvey really did. It was the reason he played along with it. There were still strong societal expectations that no one could run from—money, mating, and kids. This was the life he chose. Sighing, he rolled his eyes and spotted Donna dancing with her mate, Rachel, on the dance floor.

“At least _some people_ are having fun,” he muttered under his breath, turning back to see if any of the omegas will catch his eye. None of them did. They were all beautiful without a doubt. An air of sophistication filled the room. All of them were _bred_ to be the perfect omega. Harvey didn’t want perfect; he wanted _real_.    

“And you aren’t?” Jessica laughed with a dismissive shrug. Her champagne flute tilted towards the crowd. “Tonight’s omegas aren’t up to your standards? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You better learn to play nice, boy, I heard that you’ve been declining omegas— _client_ -proposed omegas. How do you think that makes us look?”

“Well-mannered and decent enough of a human being not to _force_ myself on them?” He asked bitterly, taking large indecent gulp of whiskey.

Jessica bit her lip. “You look like a _prude_ who thinks he’s too good for our clients’ sons or daughters. They’re _good omegas_ , Harvey, bred from New York’s finest elites. Have you thought about that? Louis doesn’t have a problem opening his doors to omega visits. You aren’t even meeting them all! You’ve placed Donna as your guard dog.”

“Oh, don’t let her hear you say that. Donna’ll take it on me. She’s too afraid of you.” Harvey chugged down the rest of his whiskey. “One, I’m not Louis. Two, I can decline to see omegas who don’t even want to be there in the first place. Three, I bought into this firm for business _not_ to whore myself out at your conve—” That’s when he smelled it, a crisp clean scent which cut through the fog of enhancers. It made his brain go hay-wire. “—Excuse me.”

He turned and followed his nose in search for the omega whose scent he caught, not caring for Jessica’s flabbergasted expression left in his wake. Nervousness underlined it. His inner alpha fought hard to claw out. He nearly let it when he scented disgust oozing from the alpha pup. He heard the latter half of the conversation and froze in his steps.

The omega held his head high, unflinching even if the young alpha’s scent spiked. He stood his ground and his grin looked feral.

“… so this omega can finish his job?” A hint of cockiness laced through the omega’s words with no trace of fear. He applauded the bravery. Not many omegas fought their hard-wired instinct to submit to _any_ alpha. The pup, he recognized as one of their nameless associates from the bullpen.

“This isn’t over, omega.”

Harvey lost it. His inner alpha ripped free, growling when he interrupted whatever the pup wanted to say next. He let his scent do the speaking for him—anger and possessiveness. The pup nearly whimpered as his senses were assaulted. Harvey didn’t care for him, he cared for the omega behind him.

Blue met brown.

Nostalgia hit him like a freight train. He’s seen many blue eyes in the state of New York, ranging from clients to judges to basically everyone but he’s never seen a pair quite as blue as the ones staring back at him. He led a half-hearted, better forgotten, conversation with the pup until what’s-his-name lowered his proverbial tail between his legs and walked away.

Then, as if the eyes weren’t enough, the omega dropped the by-laws on him like an information bomb. The omega worked for them. How could he not have noticed this until now? He seethed at the mention of sexual harassment cases but uncharacteristically felt his stomach somersault when the omega denied claims of it being a personal experience. He couldn’t tell if that was jealousy or happiness. His emotions have never run so wild.

Smart, sassy, and—his eyes zeroed in on the broad bite between the omega’s pale fingers—single. Just not the type of single that Harvey would have wanted. The omega didn’t have a mate, but the omega also didn’t want to be courted, let alone mated. His heart sunk when he forced himself to back away.

“Stop that,” he said, whispering it like a secret. It hurt but he respected what the symbol stood for. This was an omega that he couldn’t have despite how much his inner alpha demanded it. He was a respectable alpha, not a brute. But, how he wished for it to be thinner. “You shouldn’t hold your tie like that. See? It’s wrinkled.”

Like, an adolescent alpha on his knot, he moved without thought. The first brush of their fingers scent a shock of electricity through his system. His inner alpha growled loudly, threatening to burst out of his chest and take over him.

“It’s alright. No one’s here to look anyway.”

Harvey wanted nothing more than to refute that claim, but it was improper. He said the next best thing he could think of, “The clapping was for you, by the way. You out-lawyered one of our top associates. Quite impressive.”

They talked, then marveled at the sweet caramel vanilla scent that erupted. Barely anyone knew of his secret love for sugary treats. At the least, it proved that his advances weren’t unwanted. The omega didn’t smell like this with the younger alpha. His nostrils flared in interest. He couldn’t help but tease, wondering if he could make that scent grow even stronger.

He did.

He wanted the omega to stay, have a drink, perhaps get to know each other a little better, but he wouldn’t force it if he was refused. He didn’t care if the omega wasn’t dressed like the other people at the gala he just _wanted_ without any rational thought in his mind. Something about _this_ omega called out to his inner wolf. He watched the omega go.

“What’s gotten you all moony-eyed?” Donna’s voice cut through his train of thought. “Someone’s finally caught your eye?”

Harvey snapped out of his trance. He vaguely recognized the envelope tucked underneath his arm but Donna does. Her eyes widen.

“The McKernon case!” She beamed knowingly. “That must have been Mike back there, wasn’t it? You remember him right from the… oh no, wait, he wasn’t there for my mating ceremony… 6th year paralegal, works with my Buttercup. He pulled through on the research? I didn’t think he’d get it done tonight.”

Harvey registered only one word from her entire spiel: Mike—the name of the omega.

***

On the day that Dominic Barone became CEO of McKernon Motors, the company released the matchbox F1 car with a perfect 1:64 ratios for a limited time offer. Only a hundred pieces were made. Harvey received one personally from Barone as a thank-you gift.

He could have easily placed it in a safety deposit box and kept it for collector’s value somewhere along the way. Yet, he wondered if Mike would grin stupidly at the toy. It was the only thought which filled his head. He sent it down with Donna on her errands the very same day.

“Sorry, big boy, Mike’s on heat leave today,” Donna informed him when she returned.

Harvey couldn’t help but pop a knot when he thought about Mike in heat.

Absolutely indecent.

***

After that, things in the firm stayed the same. There were, on average, around two or three omegas that came to his office daily. They were all rich, intelligent, and beautiful—perfect bashful trophy omegas—all ideal mates, and also a big waste of his billable time.

“Goddamnit!” Harvey growled, tossing the stack of papers onto his desk.

“ _Where’s the fire, chief? You’re glaring like you want to laser your table in half. Might I remind you that you still aren’t Superman, Harvey, because that’s an Alpha I would definitely go-gay for—alpha-alpha taboos be damned._ ” Donna’s voice crackled over the speaker.

“Where the hell is Kyle?!” He hollered at her, seething.

Donna was one of the only few who could meet that tone without a flinch. “ _Where do you think?_ _You told him to escort Ms. Lightwood to lunch. No, don’t give me your excuses. You did say that. He’s just taking liberties with it. But, Harvey, you’re the bigger alpha. You know that you have to be careful with your words. There’s enough of a pheromone fog in your office to distract the whole office. Your poor puppy is susceptible to it. Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan.”_

“It better be a great goddamn plan.”

Harvey expected no less from his secretary-slash-assistant to only get the best. For this reason, he shouldn’t have been too surprised when he officially met Mike—in in front of his office, no less!

His throat dried up at the scent of pure _omega_. None of that awful synthetic enhancer. It was clean and fresh, and _amazing_ that his brain nearly turned into mush. The omega appeared _rumpled_ like he’d been rolling around something.

Dirty, improper thoughts flooded into Harvey’s brain. He pretended to play it cool with hands inside his pocket. It hid how much they shook. Mike’s effect on him was overwhelming. He, quite possibly, might have embarrassed himself by his eyes turning alpha-red for a split second because he couldn’t have done something so indecent in front of an omega like Mike.

He eyed Mike’s broad tie cautiously, but the omega saw him and dismissed the issue without another word. He saw the Sainz file resting on the divider and put two-and-two together. Donna had called _Mike_ to do his research and not her own mate. He eyed her skeptically, but he kept his thoughts to himself. Pride welled-up in his chest knowing it was the omega he fancied.

“Good job, Mike.” The alpha shifted his gaze, and their eyes met. He couldn’t look away. Mike’s scent flared. He smelled the slick and pheromones oozing from the omega’s skin, a day old but better than the omega-smell of his office. He wanted to nose at the source directly. If only—if only Mike’s tie was thinner.

Harvey barely registered the phone ringing, if not for Donna’s voice. He inhaled deeply, but discreetly, as he passed by the omega’s shoulder. It washed over him like cool water in the heat before he went about his day’s work.

The file Mike gave him made settling the Sainz case easier. In practice, it would have gone back into the file room after the case was closed but Harvey kept it nearby. Whenever he felt the crawl of angst buzzing underneath his skin, he pressed the blue folder to his nose and scented the lingering traces of Mike.

***

Another omega came, the daughter of a Senior Partner’s client. She was blonde, short, and curvy. She had a sharp tongue to match her sharp brain, graduated top of her class in pre-med and on her way to becoming a surgeon. Some would argue that she was perfect but—

“I’m sorry,” he shook his head apologetically, “You are indeed a wonderful omega but what could you want from a lawyer like me? With my work ethics and your medical degree, I don’t believe that we would have any time to form a proper marriage. We’ll end up not seeing each other, partners in name alone…”

Her lips started to quiver. “I can… I can qu—quit med—med school.”

Harvey cursed internally. She was the fifth omega this morning and he had a deposition scheduled before lunch. Kyle hasn’t given him the list of questions to review yet. He wound-up unconsciously venting his anger out on the poor omega. The hormones must be getting to his head. He shot Donna a pleading look and his secretary immediately enters the room.

“No, no, no, don’t. You love med school,” she cooed in a motherly tone, calming the omega down without the need for her alpha-voice. Mated scents have the tendency to soothe distress in any gender. It wasn’t the first time he was grateful that Donna was mated. With her free hand, she ushered her away before spouting more nonsense.

Harvey quickly escaped. After he left, he realized why she smelled so _wrong_.

“Damnit!” He threw a fist against the wall.

He wished, how he wished, that Mike wore skinny ties instead.

***

The final straw came when Kyle _snarled_ at him one morning. Poor pup was in _rut_ , hounded by the smell of young, ripe, unmated omegas day in and day out caused his cycle to mess up. His performance for the past few weeks had been subpar at best, and he constantly stayed on the edge.

“That’s enough, Kyle!” Harvey barked, laying on his alpha-voice thickly to assert dominance over the younger alpha. The omega from the finance department cowered behind Donna while the two male alphas faced off. “You are an associate of this firm acting outside of your professional parameters. You are also in _rut_. Go home and let it pass.”

“But, Harvey, the case—”

“—can wait.” He declared, voice leaving no room for second-guessing. “As of right now, you’re on medical leave. Don’t come to my office until a doctor certifies you’re out of rut. Do I make myself clear? I _do not_ want to revoke your employee clearance at the lobby.” He spritzed some neutralizer straight onto the pup’s face to help clear the omega-fog.

If Kyle had ears, they’d be flat on his head when he realized what just happened. “Harvey, oh god, Shannon, I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to… I…”

Shannon, the omega-victim, looked at him with pity. “It’s—it’s fine. Are you—are you alright now?” She put on a brave face despite her voice wavering. She hugged the dark black suit jacket closer to her body. The jacket and its color announcing to the world that she no longer sought after romantic relationships, the contrast to a male omega’s tie.

The look on Kyle’s face was abject humiliation. He hung his head in shame. “Yes, Shannon, thank you… I—I better leave. Harvey, Donna, I’m really sorry. I’ll just go—go figure something out in my apartment.”

Harvey felt anger, horror, and shame. None of which helped ease the frightened omega holding onto Donna.

“Do you have this?” He turned to Donna.

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Good. Send an email to HR and her supervisor. She can take the rest of the day off, the week if she has too, with full pay and compensation. Book her an appointment with Dr. Agard if she needs counseling for this… incident. I’m going to take a walk.” He left his office in a hurry and went to the only other alpha in the firm that he trusted—Jessica.

“Harvey,” Jessica greeted him with a half-smile, tumbler of scotch in hand.

He wasn’t the least bit surprised. “You know.”

She gestured to the couch. “Oh, of course I know, you don’t think you’re the only one with eyes and ears in the office now, do you?”

Harvey collapsed on the couch, pinching the bridge of his nose. He sipped the scotch. It burned down his throat with enough sting to keep him lucid for another few hours. “This is preposterous, Jessica. I know I’m considered a catch but the number of omegas coming to my office on a daily basis is unbelievable. It’s like the number of omegas doubled overnight. This mate-seeking season is getting on my nerves.”

Jessica sat down on the ottoman across him, drink in hand. “Perhaps it wouldn’t be this hard if you started seeking them out yourself instead of making them come to you. You know what they say about sharks whenever they smell blood in the water.”

He toasted to that, downing the rest of his glass in a single gulp. “They swarm. I didn’t think that applied to omegas.”

“Oh, that advice can describe a lot of things,” she said cryptically.

Just when he thought that things couldn’t possibly get any worse, Louis poked his head into Jessica’s office with an arrogant sneer on his face. “You guys are having a party without me. I should be hurt.” He unceremoniously drops down beside Harvey, hitting the other alpha on the knee. “I heard it from the pen, your puppy went into rut, isn’t it great that _I_ have associates to spare. I can lend you one.”

“Louis.” Harvey dropped his shoulders with a sigh. “Would you stop referring to associates as pieces of property? They are _people_ not toys that you brag about,” he growled somewhere in that sentence, unable to stop himself.

Louis opened his mouth to speak but Jessica spoke first.

“Boys, didn’t I say no fighting in mommy’s office?” This shut Louis up immediately. She smiled at him appreciatively. “Good, now let’s all talk about this like adults, shall we? Harvey, how many associates do you need to replace Kyle for the duration of his rut?”

Harvey paused for a long time. “Two, maybe three if they aren’t as competent.”

“Louis, do you _have_ associates to spare?” Jessica glanced over at Louis.

“Of course.” Louis grinned with his buck-teeth. The look he gave Harvey cleared conveyed that ‘Harvey now owed him one’. Harvey’s wasn’t too pleased but he was desperate. Tonight, he’d be listening to his dad’s music when he drank—if he got home at all tonight.

***

Harvey lugged around his briefcase when he reached the lobby. It was dark out. Not even the pale orange streetlamps could do anything to mask how truly dark it was. Barely anyone walked the streets at this hour—five minutes past midnight, last he checked.

“Night, Earl!” He hollered at the guard sitting behind the reception desk.

The bulky beta greeted him with a large crooked grin. “Heya, Mr. Alpha Specter, sir. Having another all-nighter, again? Where’s the runty little alpha always following you around like a lost puppy?”

Harvey laughed. “Contrary to popular belief, I still do my own research from time to time. Being a senior partner doesn’t mean wining and dining clients without actually doing any work. That’s just the wrong way to see things. Am I the last one out?”

“Of course, sir, I didn’t mean to say that you was lazy.” Earl flushed a little red at the statement. He quickly turned to the monitor, hoping to hide his blunter. “Uhm, looks like you ain’t, Mr. Alpha Specter. There’s still someone on the paralegal floor. Oh, must be Mikey again. I saw Ms. Rachel leave with Ms. Alpha Donna about two hours ago.”

Something that felt an awful lot like pride welled-up in Harvey’s chest.

“Ahh, well, make sure he gets a cab home tonight. Charge it to me.”

***

As it turned out, having two alpha associates to replace Kyle had been a terrible idea. The two unnamed associates butted heads within the first two-hours despite Harvey giving them _two completely different sets of material_ to work on. Clearly, the omega-scent which lingered in his office had strong effects on both alphas. He dismissed them before the Kyle-incident happened again.

“Donna,” he exasperated over the intercom, “Find me something that’ll work.”

“ _Right on it, boss._ ”

***

Donna called _Mike_.

Harvey scented the omega as soon as his office doors opened, like a cool breeze in a thick scent-fog. His head crawled out of its misery, and his burgeoning headache from this morning’s events seemed to disappear. He had opposing counsel on the phone but he eyed the omega’s tie warily. Still thick. Instead, he took his sweet time discreetly scenting the air for Mike’s scent. It was subdued.

He made a quip about the broad tie in annoyance and regretted it seconds after uttering it. He controlled the panic in his scent from growing. He felt like a college student knot-head all over again, pining over the blond boy in the library whose name he never got. He can’t help himself. Mike reminded him of his old crush. He opened his mouth to apologize but Mike cut him off with a witty retort.

“Someone would think that you’d had enough omegas prancing around your office.”

Nothing in the omega’s scent smelled bitter. Harvey’s anxiety melted like ice cubes in summer. Then, Mike issued a challenge and Harvey came back with his head in the game. This was work. Despite his inner alpha having opinions about the omega in close proximity, being professional came first. He pulled out the file that was meant for Kyle. It needed to be proofread to the last comma.

“Take a look at that. Read every page, every paragraph, every line, every punctuation. It needs to be air-tight when you get it back to me. After that, we’ll see if you’ve got the job.”

Mike’s eyes did all the talking for him, then he turned to leave.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Harvey’s inner alpha ran free.

“Uhm, my office?”

“No, you’re sitting down on that chair and doing it here,” he said before he could stop himself. “I don’t know if you’ve heard this about me, Mike, but I’m not the type of alpha who knows how to share.”

Mike begrudgingly took a seat on the leather couch, and _damn_ if he didn’t look mighty fine in it. Harvey could hardly keep his eyes away. Seeing Mike on something that was _his_ made all sorts of possessive feelings tumble-around in his stomach. As much as he liked the omega’s scent, it would be useless to rely on that alone. He wanted more.

The banter between them was just what he needed—amiable and light, and _freeing_ to hear someone speak to him without airs. Mike’s brains and spunk kept up with his pace. Humor paired with sass as they worked through a week’s worth of backlog. It also helped that the omega had an uncanny ability to spot details that normal people overlooked.

He found working with Mike easy and _fun_. Not even the two omegas who came distracted him from his workload. Something about Mike and his damn pencil-biting habit that distracted Harvey. It felt like a phantom memory that he’d long forgotten. He realized, much to his surprise, only when Mike left for the _pro bono_ case research that he had not had this much fun in ages.

“Crap. After all these years, Specter, you’re still a fucking knothead.”

***

The smell of jealous-and-annoyed alphas alerted Harvey of Louis’ presence. A quick glance at the corner of his eye confirmed Donna’s chair vacated while she accomplished her errands. He knew he couldn’t stop the other Senior Partner from barging into his office, so he waited.

“I give you two of my _best_ and _brightest_ associates and you—you throw them back in my face! I see them sulking in the bullpen like two _idiot_ s. Do you know how much trouble I went through to reroute their previous caseloads so that they’ll have time for you?”

Fists landed on Harvey’s table with a thud. The smell of his office mixed too-fragrant omega-enhanced scent plus that of an angry alpha. Mike’s scent drowned by the others. Harvey fought hard to keep his scent calm and neutral. He already had a hard time concentrating with the heavy scents that lingered in his office. He wouldn’t add to it.

“First of all, Louis, why don’t you take a seat and calm down, and then we’ll talk about this like two civilized men.” He gestured to his black leather couch. Louis seethed for a moment, buck teeth denting his lower lips before he relented and slumped down.

“I’ll have some of your good scotch. Chop-chop!”

Harvey rolled his eyes but complied, thinking that it’d be easier to appease the other alpha. He had little patience for dealing with pricks today. At least, alcohol would somewhat ease the conversation. He poured Louis two fingers from his decanter but none for himself, and handed it over to the other lawyer.

Louis downed the drink in one gulp.

Harvey winced. That was a $4000 bottle of scotch not some $2 gas leak in dive bars.

“So, Louis.” He sat on the armrest as he started. “What can I do for you?”

Alcohol did its job. Louis was flushed even before he started speaking. “ _You_ ,” he accused, pointing a finger at Harvey, “you _rejected_ my associates.”

Harvey did not deny it. “Yes, but for good reason. They were at each other’s throats while I had them on _separate_ cases. I didn’t even try putting them on the same one. They caused… as highly bred and well-educated our associates are—I cannot risk another omega’s safety—”

“Olivia and Seth are _not_ those kind of alphas!”

“I know,” Harvey agreed, “but smell my office Louis. You or I might be able to handle this kind of saturated omega-scent hanging in the air but those pups… they can’t. They’re too young and, dare I say it, too controlled by their knots. They need time and experience like you and I.”

Louis seemed to considered this, and sighed, defeated. “So what are you going to do now? Let my billables over take yours until you find a mate?” There was a slight jeer in his tone but nothing malicious. “At least I take my omega out of the office, unlike you, who treats them like another client meeting.”

Harvey’s eyebrow rose. “Ahh, so you’ve started courting an omega.” No wonder Louis was being less of a smart-ass than usual—he was happy.

Louis’ grinned, showing all his teeth, buck tooth and all. “Yes. Sheila works for the office of Admissions in Harvard. I met her when I scouted for freshmen to be on our watch list. I’ve never met anyone like her before, Harvey. She commanded that fort like she already owned it. Imagine how she’ll be in the next few years. She’ll dominate it in a few years’ time!”

“Ehrm, right.” _That_ was definitely too much information. “That’s great, Louis, so do you think we’re good now? I’ve got some more follow up to do on Kyle’s solo cases since he’s out.”

“Yeah… right, I should go.” Apparently, talking about the new _love of his life_ made Louis an amenable man. He stood up without another word, scent still floating in happiness. “So, do you need me to send another associate?”

Harvey waved him off. “It’s alright, I’ve got it covered. I’ve got a paralegal working with me on my cases. So, those in the pen are pretty much on their own for the mean time.”

“Missy Dietler, beta?” Louis hovered by the door.

Harvey shook his head. “Mike Ross, omega. Good paralegal too. He’s the guy who found the loophole for McKernon motors and did the Sainz research. Pretty good kid. It’s a shame he didn’t get a full law degree. It’s wasted talent.”

“Unmated?”

Harvey stopped short, scent flaring before he could stop it. His eyes narrowed dangerously. From his seat, he saw Louis stagger back. “Unmated,” he confirmed tightly, “is that going to be a problem, Louis?”

Louis gave him a look of recognition, eyes wide like saucers. “No…” he said carefully, “Is that going to be a problem for _you_? Mike’s had a couple of run-in with the other associates. He’s… _unconventional_ for an omega.”

“He’s fine, Louis. He gets things _done_ , and that’s what’s important.” Harvey clenched his jaw as he watched the man leave, fully intent on assembling guard dogs next time Donna went on her errands.

***

Mike came back with news of Joanna being paid off by Devin McGregor.

“You found this all out… in two days?” Harvey asked, with both pride and bewilderment. He flipped through the case folder in a daze. It was a feat nothing short of amazing, but he feared that voicing as much would scare the fidgety omega standing in front of him. Instead, he kept his noises minimal until the end. “You’ve got good instinct.”

Again, the sweet caramel scent flooded his nostrils. Mike must be too tired to even notice the unconscious reaction. Oh, how Harvey wanted to shower him with all the praises in the English language before moving on to the other three that he spoke fluently. He would bask in the way this scent came from Mike because of him—if only it wasn’t for that blasted broad tie wrapped around Mike’s throat. His intentions were kept unknown.

“Can I… can I go home now? I’ve got an early day tomorrow.”

Harvey kept tight-lipped with his invitation to dinner. “Sure. But, uh… good job today. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow at my office. Nine am. Sharp.”

Mike saluted him with two fingers then marched out of the room like a solider. If Harvey strode out of the office that with a bit more spring to his step than usual, nobody said a word about it.

Take that, Louis Litt.

***

The mornings might have been filled with omegas coming in and out of the office for a chance to meet the eligible alpha but it mean that time for work was severely cut down. No alpha in his right mind would allow for his productivity to decrease because of something as mundane as courting—which meant doing most of the work after-hours.

Sighing, Harvey slumped over the stack of research scattered on his coffee table. The rest of his office was in equal disarray with boxes of case files that needed to be skimmed through.  Burning the midnight oil was something that he couldn’t ask from a temporary associate. Still, despite the lack of help, it still needed to be done.

“Harvey?” A voice broke through his train of thought. God, that velvety smoothness of it brushed away the fatigue threatening to overpower him. Then, as if to pack the knock-out punch, there was the whiff of heavenly sweet caramel scent in the air. “I mean, uh, Alpha Specter, what are you still doing here all alone? Yours is the only office with a light still on.”

“Mike?” Harvey broke out of his trance to look upon the omega like he’d been heaven-sent. His gaze followed as Mike slowly made his way into the office. Mike wore a pale pastel green long-sleeved shirt, khaki slacks, and a chocolate brown broad tie. Seeing the tie made Harvey’s heart sink. “It’s my office…?”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Yes, Captain Obvious, I kind of got that. I meant to ask: why are you here so late? It’s like—” he draped his unworn jacket over the back of Harvey’s couch, then checked the watch on his right wrist, “—it’s nearly ten. Don’t you have like the monthly partner’s meeting tomorrow morning? Shouldn’t you be home and resting?”

“Can’t,” Harvey confessed mindlessly. His fingers ghosted of the folders astray on the desk. He could smell the omega’s scent linger in the air around him. It suddenly became a little bit harder to breathe. “Got too many omegas calling on me in the mornings. I hate backlogs. Work always comes first. There’s still a few things that I need to do before I finish up. Wha—what are you doing?”

Mike then settled himself my Harvey’s feet with an eyeroll. “Helping, of course. Got a problem with the big alpha brain of yours, Harvey? I thought that’d be obvious,”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to—” Harvey had the folder snatched from his fingers by a very persistent Mike. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose then slowly breathing out evenly. “Mike,” he said, shaking his head, “You seriously don’t have to do this. Your time and help in the morning are more than enough. This—this isn’t something that you should be doing.”

Mike hummed noncommittedly as he read. “Kyle stays to help, doesn’t he? He’s come to me sometimes dressed in the same suit two—no, three days in a row. On more than one occasion, if I might add. He’s got a bit of a snobby air around him but I guess it’s just posturing. Must be tough being the protégé of the best closer in Manhattan. Deep down, I think he’s a good kid.”

“Yes, I know.” Harvey couldn’t help but stare at Mike’s mouth moving. Oh, how his own mouth watered with the thought of kissing it. He tried desperately to push down his appropriate thoughts. “But, that’s beside the point, Mike. It’s Kyle’s job and—”

“—don’t you dare imply that it isn’t mine,” Mike quipped, voice tight. His deep blue eyes possessed something fierce in them. He clutched tightly onto the file. “Because I don’t care about your biological hierarchy biases. I, too, take my job very seriously, Alpha Specter. I said yes to being your associate while Kyle is indisposed, and I fully intend of fulfilling my role to the best of my ability. You might not understand but, to me, this matters.”

This felt too much like Mike as an omega taking care of him as an alpha. Harvey’s traitorous naïve heart did a little summersault at that. Since his presentation, he could count on one hand the number of people who offered to help him in gratuity.

“I…” he fell utterly speechless.

That was good because Mike did enough talking for the both of them.

“Sheesh, man, you stink of sad alpha. It’s making my poor omega heart cry. Budge over so we can both get through this pile.”

***

On the third day that Mike worked for him, Mike noticed the omega’s pants hanging loosely off his lithe frame like he had lost weight. More files needed their attention despite it being after-hours. He offered to send Mike home but the omega refused, entranced by the research.

“Have you eaten anything for dinner?” Harvey asked, surveying the distracted paralegal from his perch behind his desk. The younger man looked _slighter_ than when they first met. He received a grunt and half a sigh for his efforts—a _no_ then. “I’m going to go down and get us something to eat.”

First, he went to the senior partner’s pantry but nothing caught his eyes suitable for a starving omega. It held Louis’ raspberry bran bars, cups of fresh yogurt, and a Tupperware full of god-know-what that’s been sitting there for god-knows-how-long. He couldn’t really blame anyone. None of the senior partners stocked a pantry anymore when they could order-in or work from home.

Harvey didn’t like the first option nor could he use the second one. With a sigh, he decided to go out and find some decent sustenance. Tom’s Delicatessen stood right around corner, two blocks away, a place he frequently got meals back in his associate days.

“Harvey!” Tom’s youngest son, Jimmy, a beta, greeted him with a whistle. “Wow, look at you, big shot lawyer! Aren’t you too _classy_ for our humble little mom-and-pop store?”

Harvey waved off the praise. “Just old, Jimmy, needed to start eating healthier and your sandwiches? Delicious but not easy on the heart. I’d like two of those by the way—to  go.” He glanced down at his watch. “Can you whip’em up in ten minutes? I shouldn’t let him wait for too long.”

“You betcha, bossman!” Jimmy fired up the grill with a salute. “Finally wooing your omega, eh? Nothing beats a good ol’ heart-through-the-stomach-technique. How I got me my omega too! You haven’t met her yet. She works the morning now that she’s carryin’.”

Harvey froze, hand in mid-air from the carton of Pop Tarts. “You’re starting to sound like an old man Ford. How’s your father?” He side-stepped the question with practiced ease but his heart raced. He couldn’t have… could he? Mike didn’t want to be courted. Both of them understood what the tie meant. He couldn’t show the omega a bit of friendly affection, right? No pressure to mate.

Jimmy graciously followed the redirect. He talked on and on about his father’s retirement, continuing the family business, and his new omega wife, until he assembled the second roast beef sub. The smell gave Harvey a sense of nostalgia. He paid extra and tipped, grinning at the small cup of special sauce that he would alter to his taste when he got back to the office.

Everything after that felt like he was on autopilot. The next thing he knew, Harvey crouched in front of Mike with a fixed cup of coffee and a roast beef sandwich, stomach churning in anticipation for the omega’s reaction.

“What’s this?” Mike asked, eyeing the food with reservation, but his scent said it all— _happy, sated_ and _affectionate_ —free like it hadn’t been for the past three days of working together.

There it was again—Harvey’s inside feeling like they were on a rollercoaster. “Don’t tell me that one all-nighter already melted your brain to mush, huh, rookie?” he said, feigning ignorance.  “It’s coffee and a sandwich which you can also refer to as food. You put them in your mouth, but not at the same time ‘cause if you could do that then that’d be awesome.”

“Har-har, Harvey.” Mike’s brain-to-mouth-filter had gone faulty hours ago, and Harvey loved every bit of this no-nonsense Mike. They were both dressed down to rolled-up shirt sleeves. Their jackets lay side by side on Harvey’s new coat rack by the door. “You’re hilarious… do you use that  _brrrrri—”_ he rolled his tongue “—  _liant_ humor of yours on unwitting omegas? One of your super power, perhaps?”

Harvey laughed out—loud and powerful, rumbling deep down his core—feeling happy from the inner depths of his being, even his inner alpha purred contently within him. “Shut up and eat your goddamn sandwich before I force-feed you. You’re skinnier than Kyle and that kid seriously needs to put on more weight if he wants to work in the corporate jungle.”

Mike rolled his eyes but followed.

“ _Oh_ ,” the sound Mike made went straight to Harry’s nether regions, making his pants uncomfortably tight. His knot had half-formed just from hearing it. “Oh Blessed Mary, mother of God, this is…  _oh, sweet baby jesus_ … this is amazing. What the hell did you put in this? ‘Cause I’ve eaten this before and it doesn’t taste like this.”

“A great man never reveals his secrets,” Harvey gritted out, crossing his legs to hide his not so little problem. They’ve shared several nights in his office, and are a little more than acquaintance, but he really didn’t want all that progress to go down the drain because of something as stupid as his libido “Besides, if I tell you now then you won’t come back to ask me for more. What’s the fun in that?”

“Course it’ll be no fun. Point is to eat not play footsie under the table.” Mike bit into the sub, stretching his mouth wide over the girth again before chomping down. Harvey watched as the juice torturously oozed from the corner of Mike’s mouth and down his fingers. He wanted to lick that spicy-sweet sauce all the way to the source.

“You’re a weird omega,” he ended up saying. Mike suddenly stiffened. Harvey’s inner alpha woke up like a roaring lion, urging him to placate the distressed omega. “No, that’s not what I meant! It’s just… I haven’t met many omegas like you. You’re different.”

Very carefully, Mike caught Harvey off-guard with his response, “And what would that mean?”

Harvey was losing his inner battle. His inner alpha took control of his actions.

“For one,” he said, fingers unconsciously reaching out to gingerly wipe the grease stain off Mike’s cheek. “I’ve never seen an omega eat the way you do. At least, not in front of me… and—” he inhaled rather deeply, inhaling the sweet vanilla caramel scent.  Mike blushed at the unguarded gesture. “—you smell… nice. It’s clean. I haven’t smelled an omega without enhancers in months.”

Harvey could hardly believe his frank words. He got so scared that he’d offended the omega, who suddenly because silent.

However, before he could say anything else, Mike raised his arm to his nose and  _sniffed_ himself. “You’ve got to be kidding me? I  _reek_. Sheesh, dude, if you’re gonna tell an omega they stink, you could have at least been decent enough to look apologetic! I smell like—” _the most delicious pastry I’ve ever tasted_ , Harvey thought to himself, “—argh! Two days without showering that’s what.”

Mike description was the polar opposite of what was in Harvey’s mind. In contrast, the alpha was basking in the scent of natural omega. The scent drove Harvey so mad with desire that his inner alpha had some out to the surface to play. It took every ounce of self-control to keep distance when Mike had fallen asleep sometime after midnight.

Instead, Harvey was content watching the stress-lines leave Mike’s face. Mike looked so much younger in his sleep. Another wave of déjà vu hit Harvey but, again, he couldn’t explain it. Sighing, he shrugged the thought away.

“Hey,” he patted the paralegal asleep on his couch. “There’s a shower in the Partner’s Common Room. I can lend you a shirt and clean boxers.”

Mike squinted at him, smiling weakly. “Pffft. Alright, I stink, no need to be pushy.” He snorted. “Give me… give me five minutes and I’ll haul my stinky ass into your shower.”

Harvey watched him go, inner alpha rearing its head. “On the contrary, I think you smell amazing.”

It was too late—Mike had drifted off again.

Damn.

Harvey didn’t have the courage to ask again after Mike came out wearing his clothes. . It was a sight that he can easily imagine waking up to in the mornings—maybe in his apartment, maybe on the terrace overlooking Manhattan, or maybe on his bed. He really didn’t care for where as long as it had Mike in it.

“Come on then,” he said, making the split-second decision, “I’ll rest easier knowing you got home rather jumped in the subway. Your pheromones are all-over the place.”

Fatigued and lacking sleep, Mike mindlessly followed Harvey to the lobby. It was passed two in the morning. Only a handful of people walked lingered on the streets. No one in their right mind would be out at this hour, not with the chilly Autumn chill starting to sink in. Getting a cab wasn’t very hard when they did it from a fancy-looking corporate building.

“Where to?” The driver roughly asked, eyeing them through the mirror.

Harvey held a half-asleep Mike close to his chest. For support, he failed to convince himself.

“Mike?” He asked quietly into Mike’s hair. The omega smelled like the shampoo he kept in his office for occasion such as this. He never imagined that it would be used for a situation like this. Harvey never brought his conquests to the firm. He drew the line thickly between business and pleasure.

Mike mumbled his address sleepily before snuggling closer.

Perhaps Harvey’s own exhaustion had caught up because he found himself staring at Mike’s parted lip for the entire ride. It was sweet torture to have Mike so close—snuggled under his arm—but unable wrap it around Mike like he wanted to.

Unsteadily, they made their way to Mike’s apartment with the omega heavily leaning on Harvey for support.

“This is me,” Mike announced as he stopped at apartment number 27. “Thanks for making sure I got home alright, Harvey.” He planted a light kiss on Harvey’s cheek before disappearing behind the door.

The kiss replayed over and over in Harvey’s mind when he went home. He needed to take a shower. It haunted him. His knot refused to go down despite the frigid cold water.

“Fuck,” Harvey cursed, taking himself in his fist. He was still dripping wet from the shower with a hard-on that refused to be willed away. Clothes uncharacteristically littered the floor where they were haphazardly thrown in his haste. Something among them smelled absolutely sinful—his jacket. He brought it up to his nose.

Immediately, the scent of Mike flooded his senses

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Well, double damn.

He needed advice from someone he could trust.

***

In hindsight, he probably should have gotten Mike something other than coffee.

***

Harvey arrived in his office bright and early. He couldn’t sleep last night. Although, technically, it counted as this morning. He went home just to take a shower since Mike wore the spares he kept in his office. He did not expect Jessica sitting inside nursing a cup of coffee.

“Donna.” He glanced in his secretary’s direction. “Good news or bad news?”

Donna gave him a blank stare. “I… don’t know, Harvey,” she confessed, bowing down her head in shame. That alone was evidence enough that he wouldn’t like this so-called _social_ visit.

“Jessica,” he greeted, plastering on his best professional smile. “What brings you to my office this morning? Another case already? Don’t you have _another_ name partner you can assign that too? I’m down by one associate and you’re working me like a junior.”

Jessica’s smile did not faze. “That’s exactly what I came here for, Harvey.” It only grew wider like she knew all of the secrets in the world. “There’s something we need to talk about. You see… a little birdie told me that you _aren’t_ , in fact, down by one associate. On the contrary, you’ve pulled one of our paralegals on your detail.”

Harvey clenched his fists but controlled his scent, trying not to give anything away by his face.

“I needed help. I got one.”

“We have _associates_ for a reason, Harvey.”

“All alphas—pups,” he argued back. “The situation is unusual, yes, but so is the position of this firm. I don’t think I need to tell you that. You’ve heard about what happened with Kyle. The firm cannot risk another alpha-pup going feral over the influx of omega scents in the air. I _thought about_ the firm by choosing someone who wouldn’t be affected by it.”

“But an _unmated omega_ , really, Harvey?” She refused to stand to her full height. Despite being in her office, the glass walls made them vulnerable to prying eyes. She maintained a carefully neutral expression even if her scent and her tone became rougher.

He bared his teeth to meet her challenge, back turned away from the wall. “Second-gender has nothing to do about this. Do you really think I’d care if the best was an _omega_? Or a beta? All I cared for was someone who could handle the work and the environment. The pups can’t handle this scent-fog.”

Jessica wrinkled her nose but nodded in agreement, but sighed. “We’ve got betas in the paralegal department. Or your secretary’s mate, Rachel.”

“I needed the best. I got the best.”

“Best for you or best for the firm?”

Harvey shoved his hands into his pocket, pretending remain calm. He could feel his alpha challenging hers, and their scents matched their fight for dominance. “I’m not some condescending alpha _prick_ that’s ruled by my knot. I’m a grown goddamn man, Jessica.”

She snorted. “Oh, is that so? Then what did I smell in the senior partner’s private lounge when I got in this morning, huh, Harvey? Another senior partner miraculously working through the night with an _omega_ as their companion? Bathrooms wash away scents but the dressing room is scent-zone. Janitors haven’t sprayed it yet.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Harvey paled.

“Well?” Jessica wouldn’t be the managing partner if she didn’t press where it hurt. Her smugness only fueled the flames. She trapped him. “What do you have to say about _that_ , Harvey? Are you going to deny that Mike Ross was in the private lounge? I’m sure CCTV can debunk your statements should you choose to lie.”

Harvey took a second more before he answered. “I’m not.” He gritted his teeth together. He all but glared at her. “I’m not going to deny it. He was there. I gave him permission—I sent him. He just took a _shower_ , nothing else happened.”

“Oh, I know,” she said smugly, “Do you really think I would be here drinking coffee if you had sex with an unmated _uninterested_ omega? I would have swarmed you with our entire firm’s legal team _and_ stolen your expensive scotch.”

“Then why waste your time coming here? To berate me?”

“I came here to warn you,” she corrected him, “Louis came to me yesterday concerned about your unconventional attachment to an omega unwilling to be courted. I was prepared to dismiss his accusations but now I can see that he’s right. What you’re doing isn’t healthy, Harvey, or safe—for anyone—you, Mike, or the firm.”

Louis, of course it was Louis.

Harvey pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I am not _attached_ to the omega. Mike reeked of pheromones after nearly two days of work. It was a precaution.”

“A precaution to _what_ , Harvey? He wears a broad tie. Any decent alpha would know to stay away.”

He avoided her sharp gaze. “Not all alphas in this world are decent.”

“Are you talking about you?”

“Me? What? No!” His eyes snapped back towards her. “I sent him home at three in the morning, Jessica. Who knows what kind of hooligan would be roaming about at that time? I made him take a shower to dampen his scent.”

Jessica smirked at his outburst. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.” She caught him. “ _That,_ Harvey, is the reason why I came. Consider this your final warning. You stay away from that omega lest you want a sexual harassment lawsuit putting an end to your career. You worked too damn hard to get here.” She left without another word.

Harvey slumped onto the single-seater ottoman with a heavy sigh.

“You need a day, Harvey?” Donna poked her head through the door.

He recognized her attempt to be funny by quoting Louis and tried to reciprocate. He couldn’t. His thoughts haphazardly jumbled in his mind. “No.” He shook his head. “I don’t need a day just—just an hour or two, probably. Can you reroute anything not urgent?”

“Okay. And, I’ll keep the door open to air it out.”

Harvey dismissed her with a wave. He leaned back, one hand draped over the back of the couch and the other over his eyes. The after-scent of Jessica’s angry-alpha faded with time. He focused on calming down his own scent. Once the urge to _punch something_ left his system, he decided to wash the rest of it off in the SP-bathrooms.

Louis was washing his hands.

“Harvey,” the stout balding alpha gasped in surprise, “you’re a little early. Don’t you usually come in at, I dunno, nine-ish or something? It’s only like what?” He dramatically waved his fancy new silver watch to check the time, eye widening comically. “A miracle, really, it’s only eight-oh-nine!”

Harvey barely suppressed the change in his scent. Pungent, dark, and bitter rose through his pores to saturate the air heavily with his repressed anger. Louis visibly flinched on the first whiff, and he visibly cowered against the black granite countertop.

“What?” He asked rudely.

“Look, I get that you’re upset about me rejecting the two associates you lent but why did you have to go and make this a personal attack by insinuating that I’m starting an affair with an omega subordinate in _our own firm_? How do you think that would look like to the other? The seniors partners? Competitor firms? _Our clients_?”

Louis paled at the veiled remark. “That would ruin the reputation of our firm.” His forehead scrunched up. “We’d lose clients. Our billables would go down.”

Maybe that caused the other alpha to regret squealing like a rat to Jessica, but Harvey didn’t care. Harvey was furious. Another wave of his angry scent flooded from him. “Do you really think I would be stupid enough to do that?”

“Harvey, I, uhm...” Conflict flickered through Louis’ eyes between righteousness and guilt. “He’s _unavailable_ omega.”  

That hit Harvey too close to home. “And you think I would do something? Are you implying that I’m going to _force myself on him_? Is that what you think of me? That I’m some puppy knot-head whose led around by his knot?”

“No, Harvey,” Louis stammered, “I was just thinking about the firm.”

“The firm? The firm? Or you and your personal vendetta against me? We both know that you didn’t like that I got my name name on the wall before you.” Harvey seethed, hands balling into firsts. “I am one-third of this firm. My name is _second_ on the wall. Don’t forget that _my name_ brings more than half of clients to our doors, not yours. So if you really care about the firm, care about my name too.”

Louis grumbled under his breath.

“No, don’t.” Harvey stopped him with a hand. “I know what you’re going to say ‘it’s a dog-eat-dog world’ and everybody should fend for their own.” At Louis’ surprised look, he couldn’t help but bark out in condescending laughter.

“How do I know? Easy. Because I read people, Louis. That’s been your philosophy since you entered _Gordon Schmidt Van Dyke_. You wanted to crawl your way up so bad that you would do anything, step on anyone, just to get there.”

“I was… I was expressing my concern to Jessica.” Louis said slowly, calculating his scent to submit passively. “It might have been a cause for concern.”

Harvey couldn’t take it anymore. His eyes glared at Louis in alpha-red. “Cause for concern? You jump at every chance to make  other people look bad instead of improving yourself. Listen to me carefully. Your innuendos make people uncomfortable, you touch _acquaintances_ excessively, and you _bully_ associates to get your way. But did any of us go running to Jessica to get you fired? No! We didn’t. We talked to _you_ , and tried to solve the problem.”   

Louis abruptly close his mouth, unable to protest.

“Well, this is something that your mentor forgot to tell you. Firms are family. We operate on god _damn_ loyalty. That’s how we know that partners have our back, not stab you from behind with a butcher’s knife!” Harvey knew he’d already won but he was still pissed off. He wanted it to hurt. “Oh, right, I forgot, _you didn’t have mentor_.”

Smirking, he shrugged as casually as he pleased, basking at how Louis’ sagged against the granite.  He stepped out of the bathroom, looking cool and composed. He pulled out his phone and called his dad for some much-needed advice.

***

Harvey did not expect to be blind-sided the very next day. His father unexpectedly paid him a visit, and to top it all off _Mike wore a skinny tie_ to work. He didn’t care if it was old and frayed and falling apart.

Mike was wearing a skinny tie—a _skinny_ -ass tie—and it fit him perfectly.  

Only years of practice bullshitting his way through Manhattan saved him from stuttering like a fool. He managed to bark-out orders without his voice wavering.

“What the hell was that about?” Harvey lashed out at his father, eye with alpha-red and teeth bared. “What kind of stunt were you trying to pull _saying those things_! How can you talk so brashly in front of an unmated omega? Who works for me, by the way, you could have gotten me fired.”  

Gordon Specter did the unthinkable; he laughed, eyes crinkling as he patted his eldest on the shoulder. “Fired for what? Your, well _our_ , last name is on the door. I don’t think they’ll get rid of you that easily.”

“Dad… we don’t talk about courting and mating traditions in front of non-familial omegas—especially unmated ones, who don’t want the attention. Mike could file a sexual harassment suit. It’s in the firm’s bylaws. I wrote them myself.” Harvey rubbed the side of his temples with the ball of his palms.

“Aww, don’t be like that, Harvey. You know I’m just a simple ol’ jazz-man. I ain’t fit for no high-society bull _shit_ but I know a thing or two. His tie don’t look like much but it’s still a _skinny_ tie. And from the looks of it, the attention ain’t unwanted, kid.”

Harvey shook his head. They took a cab and rode in silence. Gordon still had his carry-on from his trip. They needed to get him settled in before they could delve deeper into the subject. As always, Harvey’s condo maintained its pristine condition through the help of the maid-service which he employed.

“Why don’t you order us some food?” Gordon suggested, making his way into the kitchen. “You and I both know we aren’t leaving this place with all the things you want to talk about. Damnit—” he cursed whilst looking through the fridge, “—all you’ve got is this mico-brew crap. Already too fancy for a regular beer?”

Harvey rolled his eyes. “That micro-brew stuff happens to be Marcus’ latest experiment. Go ahead, take one. Which reminds me, did you tell Marcus and Linda that you were coming for a visit? They’d pitch a fit for not picking you up wherever you came from. You know how Linda gets all protective about family…” he trailed off to see his father sputter out the beer.

“I’ll take that as a _no_ ,” he said with a smirk, “Speaking of those two, why don’t we order Italian for lunch?”

“Harvey Reginald Specter don’t you dare—”

The line clicked. Harvey grinned. “Too late.”

***

An hour later, Marcus and Linda arrive with little one-year-old baby Dillan on Marcus’ hip. Harvey stayed by the door with wallet in hand as the two entered. Two _Satino’s_ delivery boys followed behind them with bags upon bags of steaming hot Italian food.

“Alright, so how much do I owe you for all this?” He asked the first guy who exited the kitchen. The beta kid looked no more than sixteen, probably a part-timer or possibly high school kid on his summer job. He stared at Harvey with distress bleeding into his scent.

Harvey frowned. “Come on, how much do I owe for all this food? Don’t you have a receipt or something?”

“Sonny won’t talk, Harvey, he’s heard what happened to the last one you sweet-talked into spilling the goods.” Linda cut in, hands on her hips, smirking.

“Oh?” Harvey raised his eyebrow and the omega stood her ground.

“I put Freddie on bathroom duty for an entire month. So, no, none of my boys are squealing to you anymore. They’ve learned their lesson through example.”

“Linda, you can’t keep giving me free meals. That’s just bad accounting for your business.”

Linda crossed her arms. “Family is more important than business, Harvey, and I say that family don’t pay. You got that?”

“Fine,” he grumbled, raising his hands in defeat. “Can you at least let me tip them then so I don’t feel like such a horrible human being?”

The delivery boys beamed at his suggestion. Linda folded. “It’s your money. Do what you want but make it fast we’ve got the lunch rush coming in and _Santino’s_ need them to make deliveries.”

Harvey handed the boys twenty each and sent them on their way. He returned to find his dining room setup like the Corleone’s house from the second Godfather movie—with lots of food, and wine, and most of all his family sitting around the table. Baby Dillan still in his grandfather’s arms, squirming.

“What’s wrong little guy? Can’t remember your alpha-granddaddy no more?” Gordon tried to shush the small child in his arms to no avail. The three other adults started plating their meals. Soon, Dillan’s insistent squirming turned into little wails of discomfort.

Marcus eventually reached for his son, with an apologetic look to his father. “Sorry, dad, he needs a few days to acclimate to someone’s scent.”

Gordon waved it off, albeit looking a little crestfallen. “It’s not your fault that I don’t always come to visit. Maybe it’s time that I moved here to the Big Apple, huh?”

Both Marcus and Harvey quickly dismissed the idea.

“ _You_ in the city for good? This town will eat you alive, dad.” Harvey snorted into his Cannoli.

“Harvey’s right, dad. You’ve got lots’a good friends upstate than here. It’s much quieter too. Believe me, this city?” Marcus sighed heavily while patting his son’s back. “It never sleeps. I’m up at dawn and go to sleep just before the sun rises. It’s not fun.”

Linda patted her father-in-law’s arm. “S’alright, dad, you know if this is your way of saying you’re lonely at home, Marcus and I can always schedule more time off to spend the weekdays with you. We can visit on slow days,” she said, kissing him on the cheek for good measure, using her omega-voice to soothe him.

Gordon placed his hand over hers and stroked the knuckles. “How did my knuckle-head good-for-nothing son ever end up with a fine omega like you, Linda? I will never know.”

“Hey!” Marcus protested from the side, making little Dillan start fidgeting again. Linda laughed at their dynamics.

“Which reminds me,” Gordon cut the play-banter short, “Speaking of omegas, Harvey why don’t you talk about that blue-eyed omega that’s got your knot in a twist. Why haven’t you started courting him yet? He doesn’t look like he’d say no. He was all over you like an omega-wife, waiting and anticipating what you needed.”

Harvey Specter honest-to-god blushed at his father’s statement, surprising his brother and sister-in-law.

“You haven’t found an omega? You sent the announcement weeks ago!” Marcus’ eyes shot wide-open.

Linda had a saucy Cheshire look in her eyes. “Spill, big brother, you haven’t told us who this mysterious omega is!”

Harvey stared at the three faces peering at him, and sighed in defeat. “Alright, alright,” he acquiesced, shoving another forkful of Cannoli into his mouth and chewing slowly just to buy time. “I’ll tell you, just hold your questions off until I finish the entire story, alright?”

They all nod. He started from the beginning—with meeting Mike, remembering the boy from the library, their first case together—to the conversation with Jessica which inevitably led to this impromptu family gathering in the middle of the year. By the time he finished, Dillan slept cuddled against Marcus.

“So you’re saying…” Gordon forced down another gulp of Marcus’ experimental nutmeg-flavored beer because he could not understand the intricacies of the problem. “…that you won’t court him because of his _fashion choices_? Harvey, I thought I raised you better than to look at a person’s outer shell. The answer sounds so simple—court him.”

Harvey dropped his face to his hands.

“He can’t.” Linda saved him. “Even if he wanted to, he can’t. It isn’t considered proper. The omega might take it as unwanted advance from Harvey, and take offense. This Mike, he was wearing a broad tie, wasn’t he?”

Harvey nodded then jerked up out of the blue. “No, that’s not right. Today, he wasn’t.” He thought long and hard about what he saw this morning in his office. “Not today. He was wearing a _skinny_ tie today! It was blue and thin and it matched his eyes.”

“We couldn’t have been in that room for more than fifteen minutes, and you saw that _it matched his eyes_?” Gordon chuckled then finished off his bottle of beer. “Jesus, I’ll need something stronger to wash away the taste of this one. Marcus, son, stick to food and not breweries. It’s not meant to be, boy, not meant to be.”

Linda giggled. “He loves it but it doesn’t love him back. Believe me, dad, I’ve tried telling him.”

Much younger Marcus would have flipped them both off but new and improved father Marcus simply rolled his eyes before turning back to his brother. “That’s good news, Harvey. If he’s changed from broad ties to skinnies again then something must have changed, right? Maybe he noticed you’ve been sweet on him. Dad said that the omega liked you.”

“The omega’s name is Mike,” Harvey corrected with little heat.

“I still don’t understand. What’s with ties and all this hoopla? Back in my day, there wasn’t any fuss about what young’ins liked to wear. It didn’t make a difference,” Gordon argued.

“I think there was, dad, but you just didn’t see it. I only found out when I met Linda’s family. The upper-class have all sorts of weird traditional nonsense that even I didn’t understand at first. It’s like a whole different world from where we came from. And, if Mike’s working in Harvey’s top-ranked firm, I suppose the same rules apply, don’t they, Harvey?”

Harvey nodded morosely, with his sadness leaking into his scent.

Gordon refused to give up. “Well, _fine_. But you know that all them rules is a load of crap if two people like each other, Harvey. You shouldn’t give up on Mike if he’s the omega you really want in your life. Get your head together and _act_ , boy, or you’ll lose your chance forever!”

“But how would I even know, dad? I don’t know him enough to know his stand on A-O courting traditions.”

“Use your heart, son, you’ll know, I promise.”

***

In the end, Harvey never made it back to the office. It took the rest of the day and four adults to plan Harvey’s elaborate scheme to woo Mike. Marcus and Linda ended up spending the night in the master bedroom, Gordon in the spare, and Harvey slept on the couch for the first time in _years_. He woke up the next morning to homemade waffles and coffee already brewing. He figured that, once in a while, it wasn’t bad to have his family stay overnight.

***

Their master plan involved Harvey, Mike, and a lavish lunch. His whole family had agreed that food was the best way to woo any omega. While _Santino’s_ would have been the perfect place, it was perhaps too deep into Harvey’s life that it scared him from taking the leap. Instead, he opted to take Mike to one of New York’s finer hotels.

“Alpha Specter, why are we here?” Mike asked, looking breathtakingly beautiful in his dark navy blue suit. The only thing wrong with the picture was the broad tie around his neck.

Harvey wanted to replace the tie with a new one—a skinny tie. “Remember the document I made you proofread yesterday? It was for Jerome Jensen. He’s one of my oldest clients, and he owns this hotel. He’s planning to do a merger with a hotelier from Vegas.” Okay, it wasn’t technically a lie but it wasn’t the complete truth either.

Mike could smell it. “Why exactly am I here then?”

This was it—the opportunity that Harvey had been waiting for. But, before he could even open his mouth, Lola Jensen swooped into the dining room.

“Harvey!” She greeted, with a large excited grin on her face. Her gaze glanced Mike’s way. Happiness flooded her scent. Harvey, on the other hand, has a furrow on his forehead. “Oh my, is this…? Oh my! I didn’t think it was true. I was sure that my father was bluffing when he told me you _personally_ called for lunch reservation. But, you’re here!”

“Yes,” Harvey replied barely above a whisper. They had a history. No, not a romantic kind but a platonic one. Lola grew up as a trouble teenager and she took to freshly graduated younger Harvey like a moth to the fire. She saw him as an older brother. “And you’re kind of interrupting something, Lola. Mike—”

“—smelled like he’s going into heat. You, Mister, better get him out of here before any trouble comes,” she told him. “I’m going to tell the valet to get your car. We’ll bring it out back to avoid a scandal.”

“No.” Harvey shook his head, remembering, “Mike had his heat a few months ago. It can’t be that quick.”

“Well, it’s either he’s irregular or your cycles are syncing up.” Lola threw over her shoulder as she left. “Go to the back. Your car will be waiting.”

Harvey’s inner alpha drove straight into overdrive— _mine, mate, protect_. He could have overlooked the painfully broad purple tie around the omega’s neck just like his father advised but he couldn’t overlook an omega— _his omega,_ his traitorous mind decided—in heat.

He gathered the whimpering man into his arms and searched through Mike’s phone for a ‘Trevor Evans’ in the directory. Mike clung to him, burying his face into Harvey’s neck and nosing at the scent glands.

“ _Hello_?” A female voice answered.

“Trevor Evans?”

“ _No, this is his wife. Who are you? Where did you get this number?_ ”

“Can you patch me through to Trevor, please? I need to speak with him.”

Mike did not make it easy to care for him. He writhed in Harvey’s arm, nosing at Harvey’s jaw in search for the alpha’s scent glands. They created a scene. People began turning their heads to observe them. Harvey hated being put on display, and he especially will not let those strangers judge Mike. He shrugged off his jacket and covered Mike’s form from prying eyes. Mike calmed and clung to his jacket.

“ _Listen, mister, I’m not doing that until you answer me properly!”_

Harvey snarled, and Mike squeezed him on the shoulders, reacting to the change in scent. He tried his best to tamper down his emotions.

“My name is Harvey Specter. I work with Mike, and he just went into heat. Your husband is the last name he told me before he became delirious. So, please, just give the phone to Trevor.”

“ _I can’t_.” Jenny sounded panicked over the line. “ _He’s giving the boys their baths. It’ll be another ten minutes at least before he gets anywhere. Can you… please, I’m sorry I spoke rudely to you, Mr. Specter, but can you just bring him here? I’ll send you the address. A one-way trip will be faster.”_

Mike kept mewling in his sleep and clinging to Harvey. Omegas were reduced to their basest instincts during heat—often, at their most vulnerable too. Mike wouldn’t have hugged so tightly if he did not trust Harvey to a certain extent. He buried his face into Harvey’s neck.

“Do it fast.” Harvey ordered, the alpha inside him crying out to protect its mate. The call ended. “Shhh,” he cooed gently, running his fingers through Mike’s damp hair, “You’ll be alright. You’ll be alright, Mike, I promise.”

Mike’s scent shifted from miserable to peaceful. Harvey accepted it as a sign to continue with his petting. A tuff of blond hair poked out from underneath the jacket, Mike’s previously trapped pheromones caught Harvey by surprise. He salivated like a bulldog all over his jacket.

 _DING_.

“Finally.” He thought aloud, scooping Mike into his arms. He covered the omega from spectators with his jacket. Dropping a hundred on the table, he strode out of the restaurant while he carried Mike bridal-style. Thank god for small miracles; he borrowed a car from the club that morning.

***

“You’re an alpha.”

Three-floors up, and without a proper lunch, Harvey was tired and irritated. “Jeez, what made you say that?” He may possess an alpha’s increased strength but climbing three-flights of rickety steps made it futile. Half the time, he feared losing his balance and dropping Mike.

“I’m sorry.” Jenny rushed, flinging the door open. “It’s just…” she looked at Mike’s shivering form and how his fingers clawed at the Harvey’s jacket. “…I expected you to be a beta—or another omega but not a—” Her mouth dropped in realization. “—Did you… drive him here…? All by yourself?”

“Yes,” Harvey answered, adjusting as Mike started to slip again. “Lucky I did too. Pardon my frankness but this heat smells like a bad one. Are you sure he’ll be alright here? Where can I put him down?”

“Oh, right.” Jenny jumped. She closed the door with her foot and hurried to lead Harvey into the spare room at the start of the corridor. “You can put him down there.” She pointed to the bed. “I’ll go get him a change of clothes. Trev’s explaining the situation to the boys. He’ll change Mike out of those clothes.” At his unconscious growl, she covered her hand flat over her stomach.

Harvey shook it off. “I’m sorry. It’s just that his scent—he’s—”

“Relax, alpha, Trev and I are mated and married.” Jenny backpedaled slowly out of the room, wordlessly urging Harvey to follow him. Mike held on to Harvey’s sleeves. She watched as Harvey bent down and tenderly pried Mike’s hand off the fabric, lips mere inches away from the fingers.

Harvey stood to his full height, surprising her. “This is inappropriate. Would you please lead me out of this room?”

Trevor came padding out of the children’s bedroom with little Tyler, their second child, on his hip. His eyes widened when he scented Harvey’s second-gender, reaction the exact same one as his wife. “You’re an alpha,” he said with more accusation than surprise. “What did you do with Mike?”

“I brought him here after he went into heat.” Harvey didn’t even bat an eyelash. “What else would I have done? Are you implying that I would assault an omega during their most vulnerable state? What kind of alpha do you think I am, _pup_?”

Trevor bared his teeth. The toddler on his hip began to twitch under the tension. Jenny dashed to Tyler’s side, comforting the small pup. She leaned into her husband, whispering something in his ear that melted the tough-guy expression off his face.

“Sorry. Mike’s like a brother to me, been my best friend since we were kids. I’ve seen how alphas treated him. Trevor Evans.” He extended his free hand for Harvey to shake. “Thank you for bringing him here. Jenny told me that Mike smelled pretty bad by the time you arrived. He’s lucky to have a good alpha watching over him.”

They shook hands.

“Harvey Specter, please call me Harvey. I apologize for intruding on you like this.” He did the same, offering his hand to Jenny. “You must be Jenny. Again, I apologize for my behavior on the phone or my lack of decorum when I first entered your home. I had, as you know, more pressing matters to address. It’s a pleasure to meet two of Mike’s friends.”

“His bestest friends.” Jenny grinned when their hands met.

“Is there anyone else that needs to be informed of this? Does he live with anyone? I’m afraid I haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying his company outside of work. This was very unexpected. I’ll call the office and make the proper arrangements for his heat leave.”

Both Trevor and Jenny shook their heads.

“Nah, it’s fine. Mikey doesn’t have anyone else aside from his grandmother. We’ll call her.” Trevor waved it off. His eyes squinted at Harvey. “Are you alright there, Harvey? You don’t look so good.”

Harvey knew that better than anyone. He could feel the prickle underneath his skin, emanating from his core but hottest at the spots where Mike had touched him. “No.” He avoided their eyes. “As a matter of fact, I think it’s best that I take my leave. There’s work for me back in the office. I trust that Mike will be safe in your hands.”

“Of course, Harvey,” they reassured him. “Thank you again for bringing him over.”

***

Harvey practically ran all the way back to the car, blood ringing in his ears and heart in staccato. Sleep evaded him that night. Mike’s scent lingered like tendrils on his suit jacket—sweet and fragrant. He couldn’t bear to have it cleaned. Something insistently nagged him at the back of his brain.

Marcus figured it out, laughing. “ _It’s mating instincts, Harvey. Your alpha wants to provide for your chosen omega, and since you can’t physically do that it’s going haywire. Sounds like you’re really serious about this Mike person, aren’t you?_ ”

Harvey glared at his phone. “Yeah.” He folded, lowering his head in shame. “I think I am—I think he’s it for me, Marcus.” His alpha had chosen an omega without even properly courting. He was a barbarian.

“ _Well, god-damn, an omega finally brings my big brother to his knees_. _This I got to see. Or, better yet, I have to meet this omega._ ”

Harvey growled lowly. “Stop laughing. This is serious. I learned the ethics of omega-courting back at Harvard but I’m out of my league here.”

“ _Listen to your instincts, Harvey.”_

“I’ve been trained to suppress them. I can’t just let my knot lead me around—not in this line of work.” He practically roared into the receiver.

“ _Well, what have you done for him so far?_ ”

Harvey searched his brain. Virtually every experience thus far with Mike had been on a professional basis. The one time that he planned on meeting Mike in a casual setting, outside the parameters of PSL, the omega went into spontaneous heat. He suddenly remembered the night they stayed up all night.

“I fed him.”

“ _Excuse me? I didn’t hear you right. I think I just heard that you fed him. Harvey, you’re a disaster in the kitchen. I thought that whole lunch-out-thing didn’t work out? How could you have fed him?_ ”

“I didn’t cook. I bought sandwiches and gave it to him—specifically for him, in fact, but I don’t think he noticed the last part.”

“ _That’s a good start, Harvey. Keep listening to that instinct of yours. Your alpha’s telling you something. Hey, I’ve got to go, Linda just came back from the store.”_ The call dropped.

“Instincts, huh?”  Harvey thought out loud. “Ray, turn the car around, will you? We’re going to Brooklyn.”

Harvey ended up buying the only freshly squeezed orange juice from a local organic farm. He knew that omegas needed lots of liquid for water they expended during heat. He thought about buying food too, and, thinking about Mike, he decided on pizza. Since he didn’t know which flavor Mike liked, he bought three different varieties.

***       

Donna lifted her eyes off her computer screen when Harvey arrived in the office, expectantly waiting for an explanation for his unplanned tardiness. “Should I start or should you?”

Harvey wordlessly gestured to his office. He waited until she closed the door before speaking. “I want full non-disclosure before I even tell you anything.” He gave her a pointed look as he leaned against the front of his desk.

“ _Harvey_ , you know my lips are perfectly seal—”

“ _Full non-disclosure_ , Donna, and that includes spouses, mates, and especially Rachel. You will not breathe a word about this to her or to anyone.”

His words captured her full attention. “This sounds serious. I think I’m going to need to sit down for this. I haven’t seen that expression since the day you decided you wanted your name up on the wall.” True to her words, she sat down on the ottoman. “Okay, hit me.”

“I visited the Evans’ in Brooklyn. I went to see Mike. I brought him some pizza and some orange juice.”

“Harvey, you what?” She nearly shot out of her chair. “That’s…”

“Courting, I know. I like Mike. I asked him to lunch yesterday. I was going to ask him to switch back to skinny ties. I want to start courting him properly but then he went into heat. I couldn’t ask him when he wasn’t lucid. It wouldn’t have been valid but I—I couldn’t get him out of my head the whole night.”

“Oh, Harvey.” Donna’s longs arms wrapped around him. “I understand exactly how you feel. That was the same thing I experience when I was courting, Rachel.”

“But isn’t it wrong? He hasn’t even consented to the courting yet.”

“Mike wasn’t born into this life either, Harvey, he’s not like the rich high-society omegas that have been parading in your office day in and day out. I’m pretty sure that he already knows that you like him. He’s got an impossible brain, that guy. He isn’t thick in the head.”

Donna’s words relaxed him. “Alright, alright. I get it. I might be overthinking this _rules of society_ bullshit.” He pulled away with a sigh, running hands on the sides of his head. “Okay, so what were you supposed to tell me.”

Donna flinched. “Jessica wants to see you in her office.”

***

Jessica was talking with someone on the phone when Harvey arrived. Judging from her bitter scent, this conversation would not be an easy one. He prepared for the worse, immediately on the offensive.

“If this is about Mike Ross—”  

“—don’t even go there, Harvey, just don’t. This is about you nearly going feral in Jerome Jensen’s hotel, and nearly costing the firm a very profitable client. Thank god his daughter defended you. Jerome’s  chosen to forgive you but I haven’t.” She cut him off, eyes and scent both flaring with her dominance. She used her alpha-voice _on him_ which meant she held this discussion in high regards, enough to pull rank and second-gender hierarchy over him.

Harvey dropped to the couch obediently. He schooled his expression into a formal impassive mask. She hadn’t pulled rank on him since he started out as a sophomore associate. “Alright, still, what do you need me to do?” He asked, voice as blank as his face. A constant buzz prickled underneath his skin.

“I need you to go to the London office for three weeks.” She wordlessly silenced with him a hand when he opened his mouth to protest. “This isn’t some shrewd power-play to stop you for perusing that paralegal you’ve been so interested in, and before you deny it, just don’t. Don’t play me for a fool who doesn’t know what’s happening in my own goddamn firm.”

She looked him pointedly. “So, London, we have a problem and I want my best goddamn closet to fix it—not an alpha pup who can’t control his knot.”

***

Harvey didn’t even have time to say a proper goodbye to his family.

“ _They’re making you leave today_?” Marcus’ voice flooded through the speakers. On the screen of Harvey’s phone, the trio of Gordon, Marcus, and Linda were seated around a table in _Santino_ ’s.

“ _But what about Operation Court-Your-Omega?”_ Linda asked, pushing her husband slightly to make more room for her face.

“ _You’re going to leave your young omega out to dry? That’s not how I raised you to be, young man.”_

“Dad,” Harvey looked at his father with a sigh, “Work is work. I can’t jeopardize everything I’ve built just for one omega. Besides, Mike understands the stakes of this kind of profession. I trust him to understand that things like this sometimes have to come first. Just—just don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, okay?”

The call ended with a beep then the screen faded black.

Harvey only had enough time to pack his bags and drive to the airport. His plane left in the late afternoon. He arrived in England at dawn the following day. If Jessica didn’t book him in a five-star hotel, he swore to bite off her head when he came back.

London, to be frank, was a shit-storm and a cluster-fuck all rolled into one. He dealt with a multi-national partnership dissolution with opposing counsel from two different sides of the world: London and Shanghai. He kept tabs on Mike through Donna and asked her to buy get-well flowers for the blue-eyed omega.

Apart from calling her, the case kept him busy. He barely had enough time to rest, let alone play. To make things worse, he worked with Dana Scott, an omega whom he shared a history with.

“Come on, Harvey,” Scottie breathed out against his jaw, pushing down his jacket, while she attempted to climb him like a tree, “we can have a little fun.”

Harvey knew he had a _type_. He liked feisty strong-willed omegas just like her. The old Harvey would have agreed to her offer of no-strings-attached sex but the current him didn’t want another omega while he courted Mike. His inner alpha screamed in discontent. The prickle under his skin grew stronger.

“Scottie, don’t.” He pried her arms from around him. “We don’t do this anymore.”

She persisted. “You’re unmated. I’m unmated. There’s no problem. We can have a little fun, can’t we?”

“No, Scottie.” He fought the urge to use his alpha-voice against her. He had more respect than that. He tried pulling away again until she understood the message. He didn’t want her. He wanted Mike, who was back in New York dealing with a heat. His own body reacted to the memory of Mike’s scent.

Scottie misunderstood his arousal to be caused by her. “See, Harvey?” She purred, running a hand up and down his thigh. “You always liked me being a little pushy. I can smell you, you know, you can’t hide the scent from me. I know it by heart.”

“Stop!” Harvey let his alpha-voice roar. “Scottie, you need to listen to me. I don’t want to have sex with you right now.”

“Why?” She wailed, releasing him like he burned her. She bared her teeth with a snarl. “What the hell is wrong with you? I can smell your rut from yards away and you won’t even let me touch you! You, bastard, are making fun me?”

Harvey groaned; he recognized the signs of his rut. How could he have missed it? He started feeling like this after Mike’s—“Mike,” he suddenly said out loud.

“ _Excuse me_?” Scottie with her scent rancid enough to draw attention to them. “Who the bloody hell is _Mike_?”

The alpha rubbed his hands over his face, sighing. “He’s my _mate_ —well, intended mate—he’s the omega I’m courting back in New York. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Scottie. I _can’t_ have sex with you because _I don’t want to_. It feels too much like cheating even if we aren’t mated yet.”

Slowly, her anger deflated. “Oh.” Her face fell. “I didn’t…”

“It’s alright.” Harvey waved it off lightly. “You couldn’t have known. Nothing’s official yet but—but I don’t intend on pursuing anyone else unless he rejects me properly. I’m pretty sure, though, that he’s the one. Sorry, Scottie. He triggered my rut and all. I’m not due for another month. It’s early.”

Scottie lowered her head with a sigh. “Well, I guess that’s it for us, huh? Guess we were never meant to be after all.”

“Yeah.” He looked at her apologetically. “We good?”

“We’re good.”

She sent him to the hotel to _rut it out_.

Jessica berated him for an hour before finally hanging up on him to let him do just that.

All he can think about was blue-eyes and that lip-biting smile.

***

The awkwardness from their previous failed encounter faded away. They returned to their Harvard days when they started out as friends. In the end, they were better off as friends anyway. Scottie asked all about the ‘omega who tamed Harvey Specter’ and squeezed out as many embarrassing details as she could. Harvey laughed and played along but didn’t reveal anything too sensitive.

“So have you asked him formally yet? You said it was fairly new.”

Harvey shook his head. “Fuck.” He suddenly remembered, “I haven’t asked him yet. I left before I could. Shitfuckshitfuckshit. Damn it! This case’s got me right in the knot. I asked Donna to send flowers but that was weeks ago. He’s going to think I’m a terrible alpha.”

“Nonsense!” Scottie frowned in disagreement. “You’ll make a good alpha. Why don’t you just send a courting present?”

“A what?”

“A courting present, divvy, something you give an omega in lieu of a verbal proposal? Haven’t you Americans heard about it? It’s popular within the royal ranks here in England since they aren’t allowed to inter mingle often outside of state events. Just buy something that can signify your intent. Make it personal.”

Harvey seemed skeptical.

“Oh, come on, I’ll explain it to you on the way,” she declared, pulling on his arm to leave.

“What? Where are we going?”

“Keep up, you pillock, we’re going shopping!”

***

Harvey bought two things from Savile Row; a silver tie-pin which he had engraved with Mike’s whole name in loopy Edwardian letters, and a tan genuine leather bag on a whim so he can express deliver the package through the firm’s courier service. He asked Donna to re-wrap it in the paper bag when it arrived.

He also gave her explicit instructions to relay to Kyle—never let his favorite paralegal starve, lest the associate want to face the consequences. He tried to be subtle about it since he hadn’t known Mike’s reply yet.

***

In hindsight, Harvey should have asked Scottie how to properly seek out a response to courting gifts.

He stayed in London a week longer than expected.

Mike still hadn’t replied to his courting gift.

It made him stir-crazy.

A hurricane of work awaited Harvey on his return. Jessica might have overseen his major cases but the rest of his clients, retainers especially, wanted to meet with him asap. They scheduled meetings one after the other, meeting after meeting. It took another two weeks before he could spare enough time for a decent meal and a long shower.  

“Here,” he barked, handing Kyle a folded piece of paper when he arrived, “Go to the deli three blocks away with the blue and red sign. Look for a guy named Tom or Jimmy. Don’t you dare leave without the package they give you.”

Kyle stared at the envelop in confusion. “What’s this for?”

“The place has the best roast-beef sub in all of Manhattan. Tell anyone and I’ll lend you to Louis next time you decide to _go into rut_ while we’re on an important case.”

Harvey didn’t last another week. He hoped Kyle pulled through with the food at least. This case took its toll on everyone. He stormed into office, fully intending to finally get an answer, but it was the sweet smell of vanilla caramel that caught his attention.

Not again.

“It isn’t stealing if I gave it to him. Isn’t that right, Mike?” He scented the air. The sweet aroma definitely came from the omega. He wondered why the rest of the firm hadn’t picked-up on it yet. This was Mike’s heat scent. Something wasn’t right. Protective mating instincts overrode his rational societal-oriented brain. He needed to get Mike out of here fast.

“See, Kyle? That’s why you don’t go jumping to conclusions before you have all the facts. Now, be a good pup and give Michael back his pen.”

Mike’s scent nearly exploded when Kyle left.

Harvey could smell all the emotions coursing through it. He literally swept the omega off his feet and brought him to a safer location. His inner alpha was ready to strike at any other alpha that dared make a move on his desired mate. He needed to protect them both—Mike from the associates and the associates from him.

Something wasn’t right. The omega smelled of heat and _despair,_ while he clawed Harvey’s jacket, flinching when anyone else drew near.

‘Mine, mate, protect,’ ran through Harvey’s brain on a constant loop.

Mike was delirious in his heat. He thrashed in his arms until he could get his nose near Harvey’s scent glands. “Harvey,” he whimpered as he nuzzled underneath Harvey’s jaw, “Stay.”

Harvey made a beeline for his office. It was cleansed of its omega-thick scent but _his scent_ —his alpha scent—had seeped into every nook and cranny of the office space from the carpets to the bookshelf full of records. He thought of nowhere else.

“Mike,” he gently cooed, brushing back the omega’s sweaty bangs. “I’m here. I’m here. I’m not leaving you.”

They reclined on his black couch, sliding together like two pieces of a single puzzle. Mike shivered underneath his jacket and burrowed closer, partially crawling on top of the alpha, craving closeness until they settled back-to-chest.

“I’m here,” Harvey repeated over and over again until the omega fell into a fitful sleep. Only then did the scent of despair disappear, replaced by warmth and comfort and security.

“You alright there, boss?” Kyle, looking young and afraid, lingered by the doorway. If he had ears and a tail, they would probably be dropped down in perfect submission. “Called an ambulance. Should be a few minutes. I didn’t—I mean, I—I thought Lola was—”

Harvey growled at him, eyes alpha red. “For the record, pup, Mike Ross is the omega I intend to court. Haven’t I told you not to fuel the rumor mills? Make yourself useful before I figure out where to hide your body if I kill you.

***

Mike refused to ride the ambulance to the hospital. Harvey didn’t prod. His inner alpha howled in displeasure when Mike offered to take the bus to the hospital. He must have been too forward, letting Mike sniff his neck like that. His stomach churned at the thought of offending his intended omega. He couldn’t even meet Mike’s eyes when he offered a ride to the hospital.

But Mike agreed, and his alpha jumped at the chance to provide for its mate.

Driving was easier said than done. Being sealed inside a small compact space with an omega at the verge of heat wasn’t, by any means, easy. The scent and whimpers coming from the other man nearly sent him straight back into rut. He held firm, not wanting to further insult Mike.

He wanted this to work. He wanted to court this omega and ask him to be his mate.

That didn’t stop him from acting like a man-possessed when they reached the hospital. It wasn’t until Mike grabbed him by the neck and bodily dragged him to the omega’s neck did he calm down. Embarrassment flared in his scent but Mike continued eluding _peaceful_ omega while sitting beside him, huddling under Harvey’s arm.

Harvey’s primal protective instincts went on overdrive. He refused to leave Mike’s side even after admitting that they weren’t a mated pair. He couldn’t—he _didn’t_ want to leave the omega alone in a strange room with basically a stranger, doctor or not.

He would have pulled his rank, affluence, or basic alpha dominance over the beta doctor—he would have done anything really—if Mike hadn’t asked him for privacy. His stomach dropped at the rejection. Could this be the answer he waited for all this time? Did Mike not want him as a mate because of how barbaric he had been acting? Touching _and courting_ without permission?

“Might I suggest the cafeteria or the grocery store one block down. I’m sure Mr. Ross will get hungry soon enough. It’s almost breakfast.”  

Harvey clamped down on his alpha’s want to fight. In one last desperate attempt to prove that he could provide, he offered Mike his jacket before leaving the hospital. He walked to the nearest grocery store like the doctor recommended—a small shop which advertised 24-hr business. It wasn’t Tom’s but the sandwiches and pre-packed orange juice should suffice.

***

‘Mike had PBBS _. Pseudo-Bond Break Syndrome.’_

Harvey replayed those words over and over again in his head. The alpha inside him screamed. Mike was in pain _because of him._ They were half-mated already without even noticing. He had done it all wrong, gave in to the physical urges to touch rather than properly wait through a courting. He led the omega to this. Bile rose from his throat. He trapped Mike into a bond with him. He was the worst kind of alpha.

“Damn it, damnit, dammit,” he cursed louder and louder with every subsequent hit to the mattress. He punched the thick memory foam until he lost feeling in his hands. Pin-pricks dotted his flesh like a million needles to his skin.

‘No, no, no,’ his mind screamed in alarm, ‘not now—not _now_.’

With shaky hands, he made a grab for his phone. The metal slipping once, two times before he managed to hold on. It took three tries for his sweaty fingerprint to be recognized by the keypad. He crouched at the foot of the bed, his vision swimming.

“Call T—twerp,” he said, voice barely audible but the phone recognized it.

“ _Voice command accepted. Calling Marcus Specter.”_ The electronic voice crackled. Harvey held onto the sheets rightly, curling into a tight call with knees tucked under his chin. He shivered despite sweat pooling at his collar. Everything narrowed down to the sound of dialing.

Marcus picked up on the third ring, tone jovial, with the loud ambient noises in the background.

“ _H—Harvey_?” His voice was heavy with sleep. Harvey steadied his breath, trying to find his voice to speak, listening to men shouting Italian obscenities accompanied by the sound of crates. They sounded a million miles away from him. “ _What are you—it’s three in the morning. Is—is something wrong_?”

“M—Marcus,” Harvey choked out the name, voice rough like gravel as he chased his breath.

There was a sharp intake of breath before his brother’s tone completely changed.

“ _Damnit, Harvey, where_ are _you_?” Marcus demanded with alpha-voice bleeding in.

Harvey fought hard for every breath. “C—condo, urgh, shit, fuck!” He swallowed hard, dry-heaving into his open palm. It shook so hard that his saliva dripped down onto his slacks.

“ _I’m coming over_ ,” Marcus promised as the line died.

The phone slipped from Harvey’s fingers and dropped to the soft carpet beside his foot. He lost the world around him, with the drumbeat of his heart as his only measure for time. He didn’t know how long he waited.

***  

Harvey woke up, burning under the covers with a damp cloth on his forehead. He peeled back the sheets and discovered, much to his annoyance, that he wore two-day-old clothes. He reeked of distressed alpha in the same way that Mike smelled of distraught omega.

“Mike.” Memories of last night came flooding back into his head. A gentle knock on the door distracted him.

“Harvey, are you decent?” His brother called out from the other side of the door.

“Yeah,” he shouted back much to his throat’s displeasure. It felt like glass shards grated against his pharynx. He winced.

Marcus came in with a bowl of something fragrant on top of a bed-tray. “Eat first. Talk later. You look like the walking dead and not in a good kind of way. You look like Bella Swan before she died and became pretty all over again.”

“Eww, sparkly vampire crap.” Harvey grabbed the damp cloth and threw it haphazardly in his brother’s general direction. It hit Marcus square on the face, much to the younger Specter’s dismay.

“I forget that you used to be a baseball star.” He flicked the towel off with a laugh. “Go on, get up, this soup is not going to feed you itself. Or do you want me to call my wife here instead?”

That propelled Harvey to move. He pushed himself into a steep recline, and Marcus settled the bed-tray over his lap. Steam rose from the hot bowl of broth that Marcus prepared for him. Knowing his brother, it must have been homemade and cooked while he slept.

“Thanks.”

Marcus sat down on the side of the bed, seeing as there were no other places to sit. “So,” he started, smoothing out a rumpled patch of sheet, “are we going to be two grown-up emotionally mature men about this? Because the offer still stands, I can call Linda anytime I need her as back-up. I am not afraid to use my wife against you.”

Harvey ate some soup, then folded. “I don’t know where to start.”

“Start with what happened.”

He told his brother everything. Marcus patiently waited until the story reached its natural course without interrupting once. After all was said and done, he brought Harvey’s empty bowl and drinking glass back to the kitchen. Harvey still hadn’t moved by the time he came back. It unnerved him.

“Now what?”

“He wants me to spend his heat with him,” Harvey said slowly.

Marcus slid down on the foot of the bed. “Okay… so what’s the problem?”

Harvey lowered his head. “I don’t know if I can. It’s just too… too…”

“Too what?”

“It’s improper and an inappropriate. He said so himself. Mike is a _proper_ omega. He wanted a traditional courting and I never had the chance to give it to him. For once in my life, Marcus, I’m afraid of doing something _wrong_. I can’t just—I can’t just—” He gripped the sheets until his knuckles turned white. “—I can’t lose him, okay? I’ve already fucked up enough as it is. PBBS, Marcus, a fake bond. It’s practically biological chemistry rape! I’m not like that.”

‘ _I’m not like mom_ ’ remained unsaid.

“After this heat, he said that he made me promise that we would both not talk about it. Non-disclosure agreements, Marcus! That’s how much I screwed up. It was either that or _he would ask for another alpha_. His final offer. He wouldn’t even budge!” Harvey screwed his eyes shut. Frustration and anger and despair bled into his scent, so thick that Marcus hid half of his face underneath his shirt.

Marcus stood his ground. “Look, Harvey, I get that you have all these raging macho alpha-testosterone running through your head right now, but I need you push through all that and think rationally, okay? Remember what dad said whenever you two used to fight about mom?”

Harvey thought long and hard but couldn’t remember. Years had passed since that their last confrontation. He mostly buried thought of his mother in the back of his head.

“No.”

Marcus sighed. “Dad always said that ‘it takes two to tango’, don’t you remember? You always blamed mom for leaving us. Heck, I blamed her a whole lot too but whenever we got pissed off or bad mouthed her. He always reprimanded us. ‘Cause it took two for a relationship to fail, not just one. And, being with Linda, I realized that _it also took two_ to make one succeed.”

“Lily has nothing to do with this,” Harvey barked, refusing to look his brother in the eye.

“Oh, I think she has everything to do with this. Damnit, Harvey, this is a conversation you should be having with dad not me, damnit. This isn’t little bro to big bro stuff. You got the order mixed up.”

Harvey rolled his eyes. “Just get on with it, Marcus.”

“Okay, fine, for some reason you’re more hung-up on mom leaving than I am. Maybe I didn’t notice how bad it affected dad back then or something else, I don’t really know, but fact is, all your life, you’ve been striving for perfection. I mean look at you—your grades, _Harvard,_ topping the bar exam, getting into the DA’s office, _name partner_ in eight years, and the persona of strong male alpha you use to protect yourself. It’s all there, Harvey. And you said so yourself, you’re scared to _fail_.”

Marcus brought up his hand to stop Harvey from interrupting. “No, don’t. You wanted brutal honestly and now you’re getting it. You’re scared to _fail_ because you think it’s _wrong_. You don’t want to screw up because mom’s mistakes screwed up dad’s life. Newsflash, big brother, dad got over the _bond-_ break, so should you. How can you prove you love someone when you’re not willing to put yourself _out there_ for them? To put yourself in a vulnerable position? How do you let people in if you don’t open up?”

“Marcus, stop retelling me the story of your love life. We aren’t the same.”

“Oh yes we are.” Marcus snorted bitterly. “That’s why I know. We’re brothers. It might not all be the same but we have the similar hang-ups and similar faults. Some of them we share with dad. Get off your high-horse, Harvey, we all make mistakes. It’s how we _fix them_ that matters. You don’t get to give up on a fight before it even started!”

“I forced him into a wall, Marcus!”

Marcus had enough. “Bull _shit_ ,” he spat out, flaring his alpha-voice, “Listen to yourself, Harvey, you talk like you’re the only one who had a say in whatever-it-is between the two of you! Mike’s an omega but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a say in what happens between the two of you! He’s part of the problem too!”

“What did you say?” Harvey snarled in defense of his omega.

“I’m saying that _you_ aren’t the only one who gets to decide what happens in a relationship. It’s not all you. Mike had a say in things too and if he doesn’t return your affections than the bond wouldn’t have materialized in the first place! Especially since you haven’t started courting yet!”

Harvey froze. Their scents clogged up his whole room now—two angry alphas on the edge. “What—what did you say? He…?”

“I’m saying it works both ways. If you can just get it through your _thick_ head, have you even ever considered the possibility that he’s already half-decided on you too? That’s the way bonds form. That’s how they work. It’s a matter of consent on both genders. I know consent for in your lawyer-crap means verbal or written agreement but sometimes it’s chemical, okay?”

Harvey stared at him incredulously. “How do you even know all this?”

“Because I married Linda. It was a risk to even ask but I _knew_ she felt the same way. You’ve seen it in Mike too, I’m sure of it, you just won’t let your eyes see it that way. I made the same mistake and almost lost her. I don’t want it happening to you.”

Harvey thought back to the previous night.

Stay, Mike had repeated over and over again in his sleep.

Maybe that’s what Mike really wanted to say when he was awake?

***

Harvey followed his heart and his instincts—he decided to stay.

***

This wasn’t his first time up bat. Harvey has helped with omega-heats in the past. All of them sexual. None of them affected his primal need to _mate, claim_ , and _protect_. He knew the basics of what Mike needed—sustenance, sleep, and sexual gratification. In their short time together, he’s providing two of those.

It’s the last one that’s tricky.

No sex. Mike didn’t want to have sex or be knotted. Omegas were most vulnerable during their heat. That was the purpose of heats anyway—to procreate. Of those he’s helped, all of them were delirious at one point with the _need_ to be filled. He wasn’t too quick to judge because, then again, all those omegas had been young, none of them Mike’s age.

No other omega affected him like Mike did.

First thing’s first; Harvey called the hospital and told them to book the presidential suit. Next; he packed a bag with enough clothes to last a month, extra-towels, and extra-sheets so that Mike could build a nest that wasn’t scent-bleached with heavy-duty laundry detergent. Omegas found comfort in scents of people closest to them. It’s presumptuous to think he’d be a part of that lucky few, but it never hurt anyone to be prepared.

Then, he emailed HR that he would be taking a few days off. He’d taken days off before but he had Donna covering for him in the firm. Donna was on a scheduled heat-leave with her Omega, Rachel. Technically, he came and went as he pleased after his promotion to name partner but he didn’t want to be disturbed for the next few days.

His whole week will be dedicated solely to Mike. Nothing will be able to stop him.

The third thing he needed to fix was the contract. He had a non-disclosure template on his laptop, and all it needed to do was for Harvey to fill-in the details. He reworded it several times giving them equal safety nets. Mike would see through it if Harvey skewed the contract to anyone’s favor.

Finally, after all was said and done, Harvey called Ray to bring him to Whole Foods.

Ray smelled Harvey’s growing nervousness the moment the automatic locks engaged. He sent a questioning glance through the rearview mirror but said nothing.

Harvey wore a grey Henley, jeans, and boots. Seeing Ray’s look, he shook his head. He rarely employed the beta’s chauffeuring services outside of work. He usually preferred to drive himself when he wasn’t rushing all over the place to meet clients, judges, or other lawyers.

“Play me something, Ray,” he said, wanting to break the silence.

“Sure, Harvey, what are you feeling today?”

Damn him. Ray caught on too fast, watching Harvey’s reaction for the corner of his eye.

Harvey slouched into soft well-maintained leather seat, free from his stiff suit. Right now, he wasn’t Alpha Harvey Specter, second name partner of Pearson Specter Litt. He was just Harvey—alpha, forty years old, on his way to the grocery store to buy food for his potential mate.

“Happy,” he answered at last, “I’m feeling happy, Ray, think you have something to match the mood?”

Ray smiled from the front seat. “Of course, I do, Harvey.” A few seconds later, _What Makes a Good Man?_ by The Heavy started to play.

Harvey couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

***

It was late afternoon by the time he arrived at the hospital. Ray dropped him off at the entrance, idling while they waited for the grocery-boys to park their bike and help Harvey bring up the groceries. It took a few more minutes to get from the lobby to the room. He was both astonished and extremely pleased that Mike booked the presidential suite. It gave them all the privacy they needed.

Mike was reclining on the bed in _pajamas_ while watching the TV. The sight took his breath away. The gorgeous omega flushed with heat and his scent did things to Harvey’s inner alpha. Unfortunately, it seemed to have a similar effect to the alpha grocery boy.

Harvey growled at the kid who _dared scent his mate_. “That omega is _mine_ ,” he growled under his breath, as not to risk Mike hearing him, “Put the bags on the counter, take your money, then get out before I rip your throat, law be damned.” He shoved a couple of twenties in their hands before slamming the door in their faces.

“Stupid alpha mutt.”

He went to work stowing away the groceries; drinks, packaged pre-cut fresh fruits, and fever gels went in the refrigerator, the loaf of bread and pack of crackers went on top of the breakfast nook for easy access, and the things that needed to be cooked went up in the cabinets. Content that everything was in its proper place, he finally entered the bedroom.

Damn. Mike’s scent saturated the air heavily despite the ventilation system. He unpacked his packs mechanically while they talked about the groceries, feeling embarrassed the whole time when he remembered _how_ Linda chewed him out for getting the wrong Tortilla.

One day, he hoped that he would have a similar memory with Mike. Just that thought of Mike, fat with their child, gave him shivers.

“You mean you’ve never helped an omega through heat before?”

By then, the good vibes from Ray’s playlist had long faded. The blue folder crinkled between his fingers. Ha already signed it, and now was Mike’s turn. Harvey felt the surge of nerves start up again. Cuddle-heat. This was only a cuddle-heat, and he had no idea what to do. “Not like this. You’re gonna have to take the lead on this one and guide me through it.”

A precious little blush on Mike’s cheek darkened. For a moment, Harvey thought he had gone off and said the whole thing, and the omega would regret asking him to stay but then Mike’s lips twitched upward.

Mike reached for the folder. “How about I take that and you go take a shower or something and change into one of the million pajamas you brought along. It’ll be easier to figure it out once we’re both settled.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Harvey agreed, handing it over. He strode to the bathroom. It was small but quaint with warm light golden brown tones, off-white granite counters, and white porcelain.  The showered area had a rain-head, a nook for toiletries, and a silver horizontal handlebar.

He already took a shower before leaving his condo but, at Mike’s asking, he would shower again. Maybe Mike didn’t like some of the scents which clung to his skin? Or maybe Mike didn’t like the cologne he wore today? Or maybe Mike just wanted his clean scent without anything added. Either way, he combed his fingers through his hair and started his cleansing for the second time today.

***

When Harvey came back out, Mike stared at his direction like a deer in headlights.

“Harvey,” Mike squeaked, as if he had forgotten the alpha was here. The surprise lasted only seconds. Once Harvey’s clean unimpeded scent reached his nostrils, his eyes turned into omega-gold. His entire face lit up with a smile. “Harvey! Come here.” His aroused scent his Harvey like a freight train.

Harvey walked over without realizing he had moved.

Mike invaded his personal space in an instant, wiggling to the edge of the bed and nuzzle Harvey’s coarse damp stomach, free arm wrapped around the alpha’s waist. Harvey froze. A soft purr curled from the omega’s lips. “S’nice, your skin’s cool.”

Eager as he was, Harvey gently pulled away. “Mike,” he croaked out, voice sounding like he gargled with gravel after brushing his teeth. It took all of self-control to take the omega’s offer. He eyed the blue folder forgotten on the other side of the bed.  

Mike whimpered at the loss of contract.

On instinct, Harvey ran his fingers through the silky blond hair, making the omega purr.

“Did you sign the contract?”

“Yes, alpha.” Mike used his omega-voice, which shot straight to the alpha’s nether regions. He leaned into Harvey’s touch. As he did, another wave of arousal spiked in his scent. The smell of fresh slick permeated the air. He smelled like old books, basil, and honey, overpowering everything else.

Harvey stepped back like he was slapped. Something was wrong, completely wrong, with how Mike acted. It didn’t feel like the same Mike he’d spent working overnight with. He dropped to his knees, towel around his waist, to gaze up at Mike. Omega-gold eyes shined back at him.

Mike tilted his head. “Can we cuddle now? I really want a cuddle, Harvey.”

Harvey stared at him for a few second longer but found nothing wrong.

“Okay,” he nodded, holding back from brushing the stray hairs which fell over Mike’s face.  “let me get some clothes.” He shrugged on a shirt and pulled up a pair of pajamas, noticing too late that he forgot to wear boxers. Mike _whimpered_ when he backpedaled to remedy the situation.

“Harvey, _please_.” There it was, the omega-voice again, accompanied with a wave of slick practically screaming _please, please, please_ at him.

Harvey wordlessly complied. The scent only becoming more pronounced with each step closer. Mike looked like a piece of heaven as he lay down on the pale blue sheets, flushed and waiting for _him_. Wasting no more time, he extracted the blue folder and slid it into the bedside drawer. Mike wanted that for a reason, and Harvey intended to fulfill his promise.

“Come here,” he said after he settled down.

Mike immediately melted into his arms, fitting his limbs in nooks and crannies of Harvey’s body—arm over Harvey’s chest, hand on Harvey’s shoulder, chest against Harvey’s side, one leg crammed between Harvey’s knees. He tucked his chin on Harvey’s collarbone, sighing in contentment.

Harvey found that they _fit_ together. He liked it. His body responded to it. The excess adrenaline from a whole day’s worth of worrying finally caught up to him. Beside him, the omega’s purr reverberated against his side. Warm breath tickled under his jaw. His eyes felt heavier than they have in days, drifting close to the hum of their breathing blending together.

***

Harvey woke up to the sensation of Mike nuzzling his armpit while humping his leg. He realized two things at once; first, he lost his shirt, and second, so had Mike. It was like sleeping next to an oven. He felt the heat-hot flesh pressed against his side, damp in places where the sweat had pooled. Mike kept moving against him, the beautiful lines of his back rippling with every movement.

Harvey lowered his hand to caress the omega’s head. Mike preened at the attention. Rising on his arms, he stretched his back in an arch to expose the long smooth line of his neck. The omega’s succulent naked torso was exposed for Harvey to see—sharp collar bones, tight pink nipples, flat stomach, and a light dusting of blond curls leading a path which disappeared under dark pajama bottoms.

When Mike looked back down, his blue eyes had returned.

Harvey stared at Mike’s face, and smiled. “You are gorgeous, Mike.”

Sleep helped him grow accustomed to the omega’s scent. He breathed it in deeply, trying to get as much of than scent into his lungs as possible—rich, sweet, and _that’s when he smelled it_. Basil. He smelled basil, vanilla, and wood.

Damnit.

He recognized that smell. What college student wouldn’t be able to recognize it?

“How did you smuggle pot in here?” He kept his voice calm as possible, closing off his scent completely. He didn’t want to jostle the omega. Right now, all he wanted was wholehearted honesty, and if his guess was right, Mike was less filtered when high.

Mike seemed to freeze at the question before he burst out in a fit of giggles.

“Mike.” Harvey laced it with a little warning. “How?”

Mike brought a finger to his lips and answered, “A true master never reveals his secrets, Harvey. Don’t worry, it wasn’t a lot, I just needed to relax and it’s helping. Isn’t this less awkward than me freezing up like a board whenever you touch me?”

Harvey’s heart sunk. “You despise me that much?”

“No.” Mike shook his head so hard that he wobbled. The alpha caught him, and settled him down the pillows. He caught the Harvey’s hand before it left him completely, trapping it between his shoulder and his hand. He nuzzled the sleep-warm skin. “It’s the opposite. I like it too much,” he whispered.

His family was right.

The feeling wasn’t one-sided.

Mike _liked_ him.

Suddenly, his unscheduled rut made perfect sense to him.

“Why did you stop wearing skinny ties?” The question left his lips before he could stop it. When Mike didn’t answer, Harvey thought he’d gone and blown his chances all over again but then—

The omega answered in a very meek voice. “M’was scared. Alphas don’t want old omegas. They’ll date me, sure, for shits and giggles, but not to mate—never too mate. I just end up getting hurt. Didn’t want to get my hopes up anymore…” his shoulder started to tremble.

“Oh, Mike.” Harvey barely got the words out when he gathered the shaking omega in his arms. He cradled Mike with his entire body—legs spread for Mike to sit in between, arms around Mike’s shoulders, and nose buried in Mike’s hair. It felt like holding onto a human-sized heater.

“None of those alphas deserved you. They’re all fools. Stupid, idiotic, foolish knotheads who can’t think beyond their knots,” He growled, thinking of what kind of alphas Mike dated in the past to traumatize the omega this way. Anger coiled up in his chest. “Forget what they said. They’re wrong. Nothing’s wrong with you, Mike, they just couldn’t see it.”

Mike turned around in his arms, hands digging onto his biceps. Blue eyes held fierce resentment when the omega spoke. “Yeah? Well, all them alphas can’t be wrong. You’re just one alpha. I’ve dated so many. You know what they say when they find out how old I am?” His lips quivered. “They call me a liar or a con-man for _deceiving them_. Just because I didn’t want to…”

A long pregnant silence fell over them.

“Didn’t want to what, Mike?”

“… to do it,” Mike whispered quietly. “I was stupid and arrogant. Back then, I had so many suitors that I thought I could have my pick. I didn’t want to... uhm, pop my cherry with just anyone. I wanted it to be with my mate but I couldn’t take one yet. I had Grammy to think of and I needed to stay in this job. I was overconfident to think they’d wait for me. They didn’t. Now, it’s too late.”

Jealously enraged Harvey’s inner alpha but for once the rational part of his brain won. Mike was here _with him_ , and chose _him_ to get this close. It’s surprising how his confidence in the courtroom deserted him when he spoke with this particular omega.

“And me? How about me?”

“Because I’m selfish,” Mike confessed, turning around so that they faced each other. He wound his arms over Harvey’s neck and inhaled from Harvey’s scent glands. “Alpha like you wouldn’t want an omega like me. If s’all I can get then I’ll take it. I know you’re not gonna fuck me. You promised, and I know you’re an honorable alpha. But I’m in heat and I wanna touch you. Just wanna remember this and give me memories to keep forever because I’m selfish.”

Harvey had no words to respond to that. It was the most blatant offer he’s received since high school—brash, unashamed, and no decorum. A thrill made goosebumps rise across his skin. Perhaps Mike might not have been as silver-spooned as he initially thought. He liked it. He wanted more of it. He wanted to discover other facets of Mike.

He stroked Mike’s flushed cheek tenderly. “You’ll be lucky if you remember any of this at all. Pot and heat don’t mix.” He sighed and let the omega nuzzle his neck affectionately. He rubbed circles across Mike’s naked back, relishing in the smooth feel of flesh under his fingertips.

His inner alpha cried out— _protect_ , _mate, mine._

“Listen to me, Mike, I have something to tell you,” he used his alpha-voice to say it. High or not, even if Mike didn’t consciously remember this, the words would ingrain in his subconscious. He waited for Mike to acknowledge him. Mike nodded against his jawline.

“I will stay, for however long you want me to, as long as you want me to, I’m going to be here for you whether you reject me or accept me, I’m not going to leave you, I’ll be here, okay, Mike?”

Mike nodded his affirmation.

Satisfied, Harvey felt himself relax and his scent cocooned them both in _happy_ and _content._

He stayed for Mike’s heat, working through the omega’s delirium. He snuck in bits of cheese, crackers, and food during moments of lucidity. It came in short spans. Even then, Harvey needed to work around the drugs in Mike’s system. He didn’t even know how it got passed through the hospital’s security system but he dealt with it to the best of his abilities.

Sometime in the middle of the night, his brain played tricks on him because he swore he heard Mike calling out “mate” as they cuddled under the covers.

Mike’s heat was over the next day.

They didn’t talk about what happened yesterday. Harvey couldn’t bring himself to ask about the pot again. He made breakfast for both of them slightly hoping that Mike would notice the affection behind the gesture but Mike withdrew into his carefully controlled self, the prim and proper omega from PSL.

At the end of it all, he insisted on chauffeuring Mike to the omega’s condo. Mike, albeit reluctant at first, agreed after much coaxing. Ray drove them to Brooklyn with _I Believe in Your Love_ by Charles Bradley playing in the background. Harvey would have sassed Ray about the choice of album but seeing Mike in casual clothes—a rumpled old Harvard shirt and jeans—distracted him.

“So this is it?” Mike asked when they reached his door, one hand playing with the strap of his duffle bag and the other holding a recyclable bag filled with left over groceries. The alpha had insisted that he take them home.

“This is it.” Harvey nodded without inflection.

“The past two days didn’t happen. You won’t be… weird or anything in the office, right?”

“I won’t.” Harvey shook his head. “I promise.”

Mike exhaled a breath of relief. “I’m probably going to use the rest of the leave I filed. So… I won’t be in the office for a few more days. You won’t squeal to anyone, will you?”

Harvey shook his head again with a small affectionate smile on his lips. Out of selfishness, he let his thumb tenderly trace the underside of Mike’s jaw, stopping at the chin. “I’ll see you in a few days, Mike, don’t forget to eat and drink, okay?”

“Okay.”

***

Soft jazz music greeted Harvey when he returned to his condo. Intrigued, he walked further inside to find Jessica sitting down on his couch nursing a glass of scotch. She hadn’t taken her shoes off which meant that this wasn’t a personal visit.

“I didn’t know that managing partners had a right to break into other partner’s homes,” he said in lieu of a greeting, sliding down on the ottoman in front of her and casually crossing his legs. He leveled with her eyes without backing down, his cool and calm mask in place.

“It’s not breaking-in if I have a key, Harvey, which _you_ gave me.”

“As your friend,” Harvey clarified. “This—” he gestured between them, particularly to her shoes, “—doesn’t say you’re here as my friend. You haven’t taken-off your shoes. You’re here as my boss. What do you want, Jessica? You can probably smell that I’ve had a long day. Don’t even bother pretending that you haven’t noticed it.”

“Of course, I have, Harvey. What kind of partner do you think I am?” She sipped her scotch and watched him from the rim of her glass. “When you filed your leave, I put in a request for the day’s list of unscheduled absences. It doesn’t take a genius to put two-and-two together. But, funny, you don’t smell _mated_? Having trouble performing?”

Harvey growled, low and defensive. “I’m not going to knot him unless we’re mated.”

“You’ll what?” Jessica’s high-pitched laughter overpowered the soft jazz. “Don’t be a fool, Harvey, we’ve already talked about your unconventional attachment to that omega. I told you to stay away. I _sent you to London_ to stay away, and yet you go behind my back by sending gifts through Donna? You’re a bigger fool than I thought.”

Harvey threw his head back and laughed. “No, I’m perfectly fine, no, actually, I’m _better_. You want to know why? Because I found my omega and you? Yours left you. How does it feel, Jessica, to knot your omega only when needed? Feels a lot like being a companion, doesn’t it?”

The glass of scotch unceremoniously poured over his head. “You have no right,” she seethed.

Harvey stood up to his full height, flicking stray drops of amber liquid on her white suit. “Neither do you. My life is _my_ business. You don’t get a say on _who_ I want to court. If, and only _if_ , Mike rejects me then you can have the last laugh but this conversation is over.”

“It isn’t,” she warned. “An unmated omega who wears a broad tie! Can’t you think of the scandal this will cause, Harvey? This isn’t just about you. This is about the protection of _our_ firm.”

“Our firm? _Our firm_? PSL only becomes _our firm_ when you find it convenient. Well, guess, what, Jessica, _screw the firm_. If you don’t want a name partner mating with a paralegal because of some ethical bullshit than you can consider this my two-weeks’ notice. I’m done. I’m not staying atthis firm if it means that I can’t have Mike!”

“But, Harvey, think about your non-compete,” she said like it was her trump card.

Harvey cut through her bluff. “I’ll fight it. So God help me, I will fight it tooth and nail as some kind of second-gender discrimination against unmated pairs, and me? I’m not going to lose. Not to this. Not to you. So back off.”

Much to his surprise, Jessica obeyed.

“Fine,” she conceded, with a small smile playing on her lips. Then, out of the blue, she started giggling like a mad little school girl with tears falling from her eyes. “Well god _damn_ , the great Harvey Specter finally met an omega who could bring him to his knees. I’m impressed. I think I want to meet him.”

Harvey bared his teeth.

“Relax, Harvey.” She rolled her eyes, her scent submitting to his own. She doesn’t submit often but when she does it wasn’t half-hearted. She lowered her head with a slight tilt to the side. “Then you’re going to need this,” she told him, pulling out an envelope from her large bag.

“What is it?” Harvey eyes the A4 brown envelope curiously.

“It’s a copy of Michael Ross’ employee file. If you really intend to court this omega, then I suggest you do it through the proper channels. Mike has a grandmother. The address to her nursing home is in the file. Take it from someone who went through the pains of unconventional courting. I did try to be a good alpha, you know? Jeff and I just didn’t work out.”

“Thanks, Jessica.”

“You’re on indefinite leave until you get your shit settled. I suggest you do it fast.”

Harvey pulled out the file and smiled. “How does next Saturday sound?”

“Sounds like I need to buy a new dress. Good luck, Harvey.”

***

Harvey followed through on Jessica’s advice two days later. He waited a whole day to let the scent taper off, and made sure to clean every single nook and cranny because he knew that _somehow_ Edith Ross would be able to smell Mike on him. He really didn’t want to give the wrong first impression on his future omega’s last remaining omega-relative. He was desperate for her approval.

_KNOCK. KNOCK._

There’s a muffled “Come in.” from the other side of the door.

Harvey took a deep breath before striding inside with as much confidence as he didn’t feel. He had not been this nervous since his first day in open-court. His scent might have given him away.

“You aren’t Nurse Richards.”

It was a deflection and an out, but Harvey hovered by the door.

“No, I’m not.” He shook his head, lowering his head out of respect. “I came to have a word with you, Mrs. Ross.”

Edith looked unimpressed. “We’re already having a conversation.” She eyed the small black box in his hand but said nothing about it. “Come, close the door and sit down. I have a feeling that this might take more than a while.”

Harvey felt so much like he was ten years old again and being reprimanded by his grandmother. He wordlessly followed the old omega’s instructions. He opened his mouth but no words came out.

“Well, out with it.” She snapped her fingers after a few minutes of silence. “Alpha’s don’t just wait around in my room to _fidget_ while I’m not even doing anything yet. You’re here about Michael. So what exactly do you intend to do to my grandson, Alpha?”

“It’s Harvey Specter but, please, just Harvey,” He corrected.

Edith’s brows shoot up. “Just Harvey then. Do I need to repeat my question?”

Harvey shook his head, wiping the pads of his palm over his slacks. “I wish to start courting Mike, and I would humbly seek your blessing. I know that it’s unconventional to ask this from you but I still believe that you have a right to know since you’re the only family he has left. I’m not going to take him away from you, I would never do that, but I—it’ll be easier for all of us if I did this with your blessing.”

Edith seemed to take this into considerations. “Asking permission from an older omega hasn’t been common practice in years, Just Harvey, believe me, I’m old enough to know, which tells me that you highly respect traditional customs. It makes me curious. I might be old but I’m sure that Mike hasn’t worn a skinny tie in years. Isn’t this all a waste of your time?”

“No, it’s not a waste of my time,” Harvey confessed, “I respect traditional customs as much as any other alpha in my position but I’m not—well, I was but not anymore—limited by them. May I tell you my story?”

“By all means, alpha, I’m just a little old lady in a nursing home, all I’ve got left is my time.”

Harvey told her the story of growing up with next to nothing while his father struggled as a musician. He told her the story of his mother leaving and how deeply it affected him. He told her how he tried to bury all his pain with work, about wanting to change for the better and creating a brighter future for himself. Then, he told her about Mike.

“You are aware that Michael is past what’s considered ‘prime’ age, right, Harvey?”

Harvey nodded, hands squeezing his knees. “I don’t really care about age. I want children but only if he wants them too. He’s still strong and healthy.”

Edith crossed her arms. “Why are you coming only now, Harvey? Mike’s been in your firm for the last six years.”

“I formally met him only recently. He helped me out on a case, outwitted a junior associate by name-dropping the firm’s bylaws while refusing to bow his head. He reminded me of someone at first. A boy from Harvard while I was studying for the bar exams. Everyday I’d see him in the library with his nose buried in a mountain of books. At first, I thought that I kept seeing the kid in Mike but I was wrong—I stopped seeing the kid a long time ago. I only saw Mike.”

“An alpha like yourself can have anyone he wanted. Why go through all this trouble for a broad-tie omega?”

That, he was prepared to answer. “I don’t want any other omega. I just—my alpha just _knows_. If only he wore skinny ties instead, I would have proposed to him a long time ago. No other omega affects me the way that Mike does. He’s smart, he’s loud, and he’s not afraid to speak out his mind. All the others are too prim and proper and perfect. I don’t want perfect. I only want Mike.”

Edith’s scent was carefully masked. “So, what do you propose to do, Harvey? Force him to mate with you?”

“No!” Harvey barked, eyes growing red before he could stop them. He fell to his knees with a flinch. “I’m sorry, I—that’s not what I want. That will never be what I want for him. Which is why I came to you, to ask for permission, if he didn’t have the slightest inclination to change his mind then you wouldn’t grant your blessing.”

“Harvey.” Edith’s eyes softened when they looked at him. “I can’t give you permission on Mike’s behalf.”

“I know,” Harvey whispered quietly. “I would never place Mike under undue scrutiny. What I seek is simply the opportunity to _ask him_. I’ve done him a great wrong. I did this whole thing backwards, and I want to make it right. I can only hope that he forgives me.”

Harvey brought out the parcel that he’d been hiding. “I brought him a tie. It’s beautiful and blue. Next Saturday, should he choose to come, I would like to formally ask him. Will you give me your blessing?” He handed her the small black box tentatively.

“What if he doesn’t meet your expectations?”

Harvey shook his head. “I think, with all due respect, it’s the other way around.”

Edith took the box. “Listen to me here, _pup_ , I am not giving you any guarantees but if, and only _if_ , Mike gives you his consent then I expect him to have more time to visit his poor old omega grandmother in her nursing home, you got that?”

Harvey’s entire face lighted up with a smile, his scent exuding happiness. “Yes, ma’am.”

***

With the pieces set in place, Harvey sat in the back of Ray’s town car and decided that it was time to start calling in reinforcements. He searched through his contacts, debating whether to call his brother or his sister-in-law first, and decided to call the latter. Annoying brother-shit went to Marcus but good news always went to Linda first.

“ _Harvey_.” A voice that reminded him scarily like Donna answered him on the first ring. “ _You know it’s always nice to hear from you. Marcus is in the kitchen right now. I’m assume that’s why you called me. But you better have a damn good reason for calling right before the dinner rush. Is this urgent or can you leave a message?”_

Harvey chuckled at Linda’s straight to the point, no-nonsense, tone. “No, you’re the person I want to speak to.”

“ _Okay, I’m listening_.”

“Does _Santino’s_ do catering?”

“ _For what?”_

“Courting party.”

Linda snorted on the other side. “ _Tough luck, Specter, you know we don’t do that sorta stuff. Marcus and I promised dad to keep ourselves low key. Can’t grow the business to much without the BIR sniffing our tails, especially not with Dillan around.”_

Harvey expected just as much, which was why he chose to save his trump card. “Not even for me?”

It took Linda a few seconds to piece together his words. “ _Oh my god_!” She shouted into the receiver, making Harvey wince. There was scuffling, and grunting, and shouting in Italian in the background before she spoke again. “ _Okay. Marcus and I are coming over—I don’t care if it’s dinner rush. Lucca will handle it—right fucking now_.”

“No need. I’m right here.” Harvey laughed, exciting the car with a wink at Ray. The diver gave him a double-thumbs up. “I’ll call if I need a ride back, Ray.” He turned to his phone again and traversed the sidewalk. He entered the humble little Italian restaurant established when the De’ Medici Family started the first wave of legitimization to cover their illegal activities, passed down from generation to generation.

“Harvey Reginald Specter!” Linda broke through the kitchen doors with hands on her hips. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

Marcus followed his wife out shortly, apron and all. “And I wouldn’t leave anything out if I were you. She was pissed that not hearing about the you-know-what with you-know-who. Speaking of which, shouldn’t you still be in the hospital?”

“His heat ended early.” Harvey answered with a shrug. “So, are we doing this here in the middle of your dining area or can we talk somewhere more private?”

“Come to the back. We’ve got a table set up.”

Santino’s backroom originally catered to the De’ Medici’s private appointments. It stopped after Linda and Marcus took over from Linda’s elder brother. Linda, as much as she loved her family, didn’t want her son growing up in that kind of environment. She was more stringent in granting access to _her_ restaurant and family members needed to schedule ahead of time if they wanted to use the establishment as a meeting place.

She sat down at the head of the table and, in true godfather fashion, rubbed her knuckles under her chin. “Alright, so, tell me everything, Harvey, then I’ll think about your request.”

Harvey told them everything, and what he wanted to do next.

“You know what we should do?” Linda said after he finished. Both alpha boys looked at her with the same questioning face. “We should call dad. He can help us set this whole thing up like—” she snapped, “—that. When do you want it to happen? If you ask me, the sooner you have the party, the better before that poor omega starts getting weird ideas.”

“Linda, what are you talking about?” Harvey shot an incredulous look in her direction. “Ideas about what?”

Linda had her best _look at you, poor baby_ expression on her face. “Harvey, isn’t it obvious? Your rut is off and so is his heat. You guys are syncing up. That’s rare enough as it is _but before mating_? That right there is classic true-mates shit. Don’t tell me you didn’t even know?”

Harvey gave her a blank look.

Linda looked to her husband for support but Marcus shook his head. “Linda, we didn’t get all that romantic true-mate stuff when we were kids, okay? You better explain it to Harvey yourself. I mean I didn’t even believe it until I met you.”

“You, smooth motherfucker.” She kissed him on the cheek for his sweetness. “Okay, Harvey, here’s the deal, when an alpha and an omega fall in-love, they get mated and make puppies. Sometimes, if an alpha and an omega are really, _really_ , compatible biologically, their cycles sync together to heighten fertility. Nowadays, there’s medicines and doctors to help the process along but if you’re lucky, and it seems like you are, you’ll find your true mate.”

“True mates don’t exist,” Harvey countered. “It’s a myth developed by romcom dramas.”

Marcus shook his head. “No, Harvey, it’s true. I didn’t believe it too but I know now I was wrong.”

Harvey stared at his brother in shock. “Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“Would you believe me if I had told you?” Marcus shrugged, eyes apologetic. “You were too hung-up on dad and mom’s failed relationship to even think that it would be possible. It was just easier not to tell you.”

Harvey slumped his shoulders. He stayed quiet for a very long time. Marcus and Linda steadily grew worried as the minutes ticked by. “Well, I’ll be damned, isn’t fate a pesky little bitch?”

Linda exhaled a sigh of relief. “Like I was saying, we should really call dad,” she said to Marcus.

“Which one? Yours or mine?”

“That really depends on Harvey. What do you say, big bro? When do you want your little courting party to happen? We’ll make it happen even if we pull all the strings in the family web.” Surprise burst unfiltered from Harvey’s scent. “What? Being part of _my family_ does have its perks, you know.”

Harvey couldn’t help but smile. “How does Saturday sound?”

“That’s perfect.” Linda grinned from ear to ear, visibly changing from restaurant owner mode to party planner mode within seconds. “We’re going to need all the help we can get. Marcus, babe, it’s time to call in the cavalry. Now, Harvey, you’ve got to make a few phone calls of your own.”

Harvey groaned inwardly, and prepared for one very long week.

A few days later, Ray’s sleek black town car pulled into the Chilton driveway. Harvey exited the vehicle looking cool, calm, and confidant. He wore a traditional three-piece black and white tuxedo, customary for an alpha hosting a courting ball. It was completely the opposite of how he felt inside. Anticipation curled inside his gut at the prospect that tonight he would finally ask Mike to be his omega.

The last time he was here had been the PSL Ball hosted by the firm. Not-so-coincidentally, it was the first time he spoke to Mike and the reason why he wanted it to be the place—a memory of their first encounter, the way Mike captivated him with quick wit and an unwavering self-assurance.

True to her word, Linda created a stunning venue for the occasion. Harvey surveyed the room. Everything was perfect—from the elegant dark grey tables, silver trimmed chairs, neutralizer spray hidden by the cloths decorating the ceiling, to the orchestra on the elevated stage.

People had already started to arrive, but still no sign of the person he so desperately waited for. He already danced with several omegas, the last one being Lola Jensen. He begged off on the next one who asked him.

“Well, well, I say that this is much of a surprise, even for you, Harvey. I never pegged you as a party planner type.” Jessica walked up behind him, wearing her gorgeous deep purple satin dress with her hair draped over one shoulder. “This is nice. This is really nice considering that you had a week to set it all up. I’m impressed.” Her scent gave nothing away.

Harvey kept his in-check. He tried to smile. “So, is this the new dress?” He squinted his eyes. “Hmm, I dunno, Jessica, I’m not quite sure that purple is the right color for you. I would have gone with a little less cloth and a little more _risqué_.”

“Oh? Do you think that you’re funny?” Jessica snorted.

“This is my party. I’ll be funny if I want to. Look, Jessica, are we going to dance around the proverbial elephant in the room or are you going to just go ahead and tell me what you came here to say? I’m a little busy looking for Mike”

Jessica leveled with him. “That’s exactly what I came here to say. Harvey, we might not see eye to eye on a lot of things but I _did_ ask you to be a name partner for a reason—I trust you. I trust your choices. This would have all gone much smoother if this whole thing didn’t happen right under my nose because, like it or not, he’s still a member of my— _our—_ firm. But when it comes to it, I’ll choose you over him any day.”

Harvey shook his head. “I’ll never let you do that, Jessica. He goes; I go. I’ve already told you that.”

“You’re right, Harvey, this is your life,” She conceded, “but if I were you, I’d look over there if you still haven’t found him yet.” She pointed to a figure _at his family’s table_ , holding what looked like his nephew.

“We’ll I’ll be damned.”

It was Mike.

***

Mike Ross had Dillan in his arms. Dillan—the tiny, incredibly picky baby who kicked up a fuss even with his own grandfather—laid in Mike’s arms like he was having the best dream in the world. To Harvey, there hasn’t been a more beautiful sight than to see Mike cradling the infant to his chest. The omega sang too, his voice a soft timbre that filled the space between them.

Mike moved like an omega born to be a parent, rocking Dillan gently. Harvey’s smile only grew bigger. The whole world narrowed down to just the two of them, or three counting Dillan. He couldn’t believe his own eyes. He has never seen the baby be so calm outside of his parent’s arms. Even with Harvey, Dillan would kick up a fuss.

“The clapping is for you. I didn’t know you could sing,” he said, still awed. Mike looked lovely with baby Dillan in his arms. He would look even more lovely with their own pup in his arms.

Mike concentrated on keeping his gentle rocking motion. “He was fidgeting. And I—it reminded me of home. He wouldn’t calm down otherwise.” He turned away slightly but Harvey kept looking at him with an intense gaze. “She could have left him with Rachel. He would have liked her scent more but she’s…” he glanced down at the sleeping baby.

“You seem to be doing a marvelous job. No help necessary. You’re wonderful with children.” Harvey came closer, the closest he’d been since the cuddle-heat incident. From this close, there was nothing but Mike’s sweet vanilla caramel scent. “I thought you were an only child?”

A tiny pink blush colored Mike’s cheeks. “I am but my best friends from childhood ended up mated together and I’m their number one omega nanny on speed dial. You can call me, Uncle Mikey. I sung for their pups too. Singing seems to work like a charm.”

Uncle Mikey sounded nice but Papa Mike sounded better. “I must agree. You are quite charming, Mike. That child doesn’t calm down for anyone at all.”

“How would you know?” Mike looked at him incredulously but scent beaming with pride.

On cue, Linda appeared from behind him. “My darling Dillan does so! That’s just because you have no patience babysitting, _Uncle Harvey_.” Her voice told him everything he needed to know. She planned for him to see this. _This_ is how much they approve of his chosen omega—to willingly hand over their precious child, and Mike passed her test with flying colors. “Oh my he’s asleep. Well, aren’t you a gifted baby whisperer. Even I have trouble getting him to do that.”

Harvey kissed her on the top of her head, tone expressing with warmth and gratitude. “Marcus can take him to the room downstairs. I’ve already given him the keycard.”

Linda gave him a knowing look. “You—” she nudged him suggestively. “—should ask this fine young omega for a dance since he hasn’t been asked in _years_.”

And, well, _that_ came as a surprise.

How could alphas not see the beauty in Mike Ross? How could they so blatantly ignore Mike as a prospective mate? He was smart, gorgeous, and funny. He could make Harvey smile even with the lamest of jokes. He was the most genuine person that Harvey ever met, and it refreshed him after the long grueling years of meddling with corporate faces.

Mike was his oasis in the desert.

“Ahem.” Donna’s cough pulls him out of his reveries. Her eyes dart towards the table. He recognizes it immediately—his courting present lay unopened. Mike never opened it. Mike never knew his intentions. A mix of sadness and hope swirled inside his chest; sadness for the unopened present but hope that the Mike’s presence tonight spoke more.

Harvey stood frozen while Mike finally opened the black paper bag, eyes growing when he saw lay inside.

“Open it,” he said, throat feeling dry like the Sahara, a hidden plea of forgiveness for everything that’s happened. There were so many things he wanted to say, and wanted to do, but he stayed motionless in his place, at awe with Mike’s expressions.

“There’s more?” Mike turned to him in shock. “How can there possibly be more…? Harvey?”

Harvey merely nodded, stiff and _anxious_. Slowly, the bits and pieces came into place, and their conversation in the hospital made so much more sense to him. Mike didn’t know that Harvey was courting him, and yet he still _asked Harvey to spend the heat with him_. Harvey’s inner alpha howled in pride at this development.

 _‘Mike, Mike, Mike_ ,’ played over and over again in his head, followed by ‘ _mate, mate, mate_ ’.

He followed each and every single one of Mike’s motions, wanting to read the omega’s reactions. Mike held the bag in reverence, tracing the leather, touching the buttons, until he gingerly lifted the flap. Harvey held his breath tightly. He knew what lay inside. He chose it, after all. A symbol of promise from an alpha to an omega, of protection, of love.

Mike’s powder blue eyes widened when he saw it. “Will you put it one me for me?”

The inner alpha inside Harvey growled in acknowledgement and pride. His omega accepted the gift—accepted him—and asked him the great honor of putting it on. Like a boy, he lost control of his scent, flooding the air between them with the heavy scent of _mateminemike_. He blushed embarrassingly deep red for a man his age.

Mike looked at him with pupils blown wide, gold threatening to overpower the natural blue.

That’s when Harvey scented it—old book and honey, Mike’s scent, sweeter than when the omega was in heat, richer and _better_. He couldn’t explain exactly why but his legs moved at their own accord until they were but inches apart.

Harvey saw everything—Mike’s half-lidded eyes, long curling lashes, light blush from his ears to his chest, pink over-bitten lips, and the _skinny tie_ which hung at the center of his chest. He touched the cool metal and slid it carefully over the tie. Harvey gave Mike that tie, and it suited him perfectly. Giddiness expanded in his chest when the clasp locked into place.

They both shared a single breath. He vaguely heard Donna saying something in the background but her words drowned out with the question from Mike’s lips. He cared for nothing else but the man who stood before him.

“Would you like to dance?”

 _Yes, yes, a million times, yes_ , he wanted to say but the words stuck in his throat like taffy. Mike’s scent openly surrounded him, reaching into his depths, every crevice and every niche. He inhaled it greedily like he needed oxygen.

Harvey gathered Mike into his arms, and simply breathed.

Their scents mingled into one.

It felt right—like two missing puzzle pieces that fit together, like two halves of a whole, like a stabilizing agent to appease their inner wolves.

Harvey led Mike to the dance floor. The band played a violin concerto accompanied by the piano and the rest of the orchestra. They didn’t have to hurry. Not now. Not ever. They stretched this one period in time where they were simply  _together_ with no heat, no proposals, no mating looming over their heads.

Harvey hadn’t felt like this in years. Maybe in his boyhood, he would let his emotions run wild and free in every direction, but that had all stopped since he decided to become a lawyer. There was little time for run and game on the journey to the top. Now, though, his body felt lighter than the scentless air around them.

They danced. He followed on instincts alone—twirling, lifting, dipping Mike like they were a couple of seasoned ballroom dancers on exhibition.  

“Do you like it?” Harvey thought aloud, the little anxiousness curled in his stomach. “This dance. This ball. Do you like it?”

“It’s… nice.”

“Just nice?” Harvey asked again but he could already see the omega-gold lining Mike’s eyes. This omega was his and he wanted the whole world to know it. He dipped Mike low, making the young man bare his neck for him, and him alone, in a display of flagrant possessiveness.

“Very nice.” He conceded, bubbling laugh. “If you must fish for compliments then, yes, this party is very nice,  _alpha_. Is that what you want to hear?” He asked playfully, “More compliments on how well you throw a party?”

Harvey laughed too, dark and husky, coming from the very depths of his chest. It was filled with so much pride that he was afraid it would burst. He leaned close enough for his lips to touch the tip of Mike’s ear, “I would like you to join me for the next one. I’m thinking of hosting again in Spring next year.”

 “Of course, Alpha Specter, what omega in their right mind would say no to that? As long as your mate would agree, I’d be happy.” That wasn’t the reply he was hoping for. No, it wasn’t right. Why was Mike referring to another omega? Were his words not enough?

Harvey growled, alpha-side coming to the surface. “Of course, I believe he would be amenable to you accompanying me in parties.” His voice deepened two octaves. He released a wave of pheromone-laced scent that smelled thickly of his arousal, telling Mike’s inner omega what his inner alpha wanted but Mike jumped back.

He already read the younger man’s moves. His arms trapped Mike, hands firmly over his, and it happened in slow motion—the alpha sunk to both knees in front the omega.

“Michael James Ross, there has been a terrible misunderstanding because I am not interested in mating with Lola Jensen or any other omega in this room…” Harvey had stopped talking and held their hands together. “Open your eyes, Mike,” his lips brushed across the omega’s knuckles in a whisper, “I want to see your eyes when I ask you.”

Mike squeezed the alpha’s hands like a lifeline. Then, he opened his eyes.

Red met gold.

Alpha and Omega.

Harvey and Mike.

“Michael James Ross, you are the omega to my alpha, the only wolf who answers my own, but that is not why I want you—you are more than that, Mike. I love your brain, your wit, and your humor. I love your personality, your character, and your strength. I love you and only you. I would have no other—” he announced, kissing Mike’s hand.

Harvey rose up in slow motion, and pried the hand Mike used to hold onto his skinny tie. Once freed, he brought the end of the fabric up to his lips and kissed it too. “—If you’ll have me, it would be an honor to mate with you.” They were face to face, inches away from each other, scents mingling together.

The world, the party, the crowd melted in the background.

“Oh fuck.”

Harvey couldn’t help but smile, his lips underlined by the tie. “I’m so glad that this matched your eyes perfectly.”

“What?” Mike asked in confusion.

Harvey’s smile only grew bigger. It seems that for a guy with a mega-brain, his omega was just as thick-brained as him when it came to this whole courting business. “What proper alpha would court an omega without seeking proper permission? And since your parents…” his voice trailed off but he gestured to one of the tables covered with cloth. “…I had to ask your grandmother, of course. I  _think_ I have her stamp of approval.”

He pointed to the direction of Mike’s family table. Harvey would have preferred if the trio sat closer to his but it was near the window at Jenny’s beaconing because fresh air helped her nausea. Mike squinted until he caught sight of them, then he turned to Harvey with eyes overwhelmed with tears.

Hands cupped Harvey’s face as confusion set it. “But Harvey, your father…”

“Messed with my plans to properly gain your consent for courting.” Harvey’s voice turned to a growl, his scent blatantly expressed his displeasure at his father’s unhelpful matchmaking. “And, he has an odd-way of showing you he approved. But trust me, he does. I’m sorry, I thought—I thought you knew.”

“You’ve been courting me?” Mike stared at Harvey with utter disbelief.

Harvey too felt the gravity of this whole big misunderstanding finally come to light.

“Yes,” he confessed quietly. He had, hadn’t he? Formal or not. “I’ve been courting you since McKernon motors but then Donna corrected my false assumptions. According to her, intent must be in writing: signed, sealed, and delivered. It never occurred to me that you never read it. Then, you ask me to stay for your heat and I—I knew then that it could only be you.”  

“Oh, but I thought…” Mike trailed off, scent filled with confusion. The sourness slowly gave way to the sweet caramel fragrance once more.

“Clearly, we’ve been getting this all wrong. If not to mate, I ask for your consent to court you—properly this time—until we reach a point where I can ask you to be my mate all over again. I can wait even if my rut is just around the corner. You’re it for me, Mike, I’m not going to look for someone else when I’ve already found my perfect person.” Harvey held onto Mike close.

“Your rut? You’re going into rut?”

Harvey felt his cheeks redden. He hid his face in Mike’s neck. “Yes, Jesus, I’m so embarrassed but I wanted to push-up the mating because of your PBBS and my rut. I think—it’s just when you’re heat stopped I knew but it wasn’t proper to tell you yet—not without us being mated. I think, no, I know, our bodies think we’re already mated but that’s not the only reason why I want you, I swear.”

He pulled away and kissed Mike’s hands again. “You are the breath of fresh air when I thought I was drowning, solid ground when I was getting too high, an omega—no, a man—unlike any other—who isn’t afraid to speak his mind despite all gender norms.”

It felt like an eternity for Mike to reply.

“Yes,” he answered, looking straight into Harvey’s eyes and seeing brown give way to red. “Yes to everything and more as long as it’s with you and only you, my alpha.” His eyes turned to gold.

“Yes!” Harvey shouted, uncharacteristically loud and full of emotion. He wasn’t too fond of displaying his heart on his sleeve but he wanted everyone to see this moment. To hell with anyone who thought that an alpha showing emotion was weak. He couldn’t have felt more powerful than in this moment, and it manifested physically as he hauled Mike up.

“Harvey, put me down, this is… this is embarrassing!”

“I don’t care,” Harvey announced stubbornly. The joy still overflowed from him—his aura, his scent, his whole demeanor. “They can all be jealous that I have the prettiest omega in town.”

“Oh, I bet all the mated alphas will say the same.” Mike teased, laughing. “Alpha.”

The name made Harvey’s heart do backflips all over again. His smile grew impossibly wider, eyes shining. An alpha he was—but no longer alone.

“Omega,” he said like he was saying an old word with completely different meaning for the first time, “my omega.”

Mike agreed, “Yes, yours.”

The alpha’s scent surrounded him like a protective cocoon, and his own mingled with  _happy, adoring, mate_. Their lips met unceremoniously. It was warm and simple, yet he couldn’t be happier. His inner alpha called upon Mike’s inner omega.

The moment was broken too quickly when the room erupted in a round of applause.

Harvey  _growled_ , a deep resonating noise that erupted from the center of his chest, laced with his alpha-voice. His pheromones and scent flared at the crowd for a split second before he remembered exactly where they were standing. He tapered it quickly in embarrassment.

Then, Mike’s scent suddenly surrounded him. Mike had his head tilted his head in submission like it was the most natural thing in the world, not thinking twice at baring his neck for his alpha. His hands caressed Harvey’s nape, playing with the short brown hair in soothing circles. His touch melted the alpha.

Harvey’s growl turned into the cutest little  _purr_ that only Mike could hear. His face felt impossibly hot. He heard Mike _purr_ in response, and it tingled down to his toe. “I think you owe me an explanation. Am I the only one who wasn’t  _in_ on what you were doing?”

“Not really,” Harvey murmured into Mike’s neck with his arms wrapped lightly around the omega’s waist. “Despite my reputation. I’d like to think that I’m a private man.” He rubbed his cheeks on any inch of skin which he can reach. It was an old scenting-display. He brushed over somewhere sensitive, and Mike giggled.

“Harvey, I think we need to get back. You still have some explaining  _and proper introductions_ to do.”

Harvey pressed a few more kisses onto Mike’s skin before pulling away with a smile. He linked their fingers together.

“I think I do,” he said, leading them off the dance floor and back to the tables. “I’m introducing my intended omega to the rest of the world.”

***

It is a universally acknowledged truth, that an unmated Alpha in possession of a good career and good fortune, must be in want of an Omega. Society may have come a long way but the universal truth still remained.

Harvey Specter was, indeed, in want of an omega, and not just any omega—he wanted Mike Ross to be his omega, and now he can final start the courtship

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading~ I hope you all had a wonderful time witnessing the Jane Austen inspired love story between Mike and Harvey. This time, I really wanted to focus on Harvey's perspective, which we didn't get to see in the first story, but at the same time, I didn't want a simple copy-paste in a different POV to happen. I tried to bring in Harvey. It may not be as emotionally deep as Mike's story, but I still wanted to show his struggles in his seemingly flawless life. I initially planned on having just a short 10k-ish story to fill in the blanks but, again, it exploded into this monster which took on a life of its own. It was a pleasure writing this story. This kept me busy for a big chuck of June. I didn't want to mess up the universe that I already created. So, I pressured myself to make it perfect. I hope I did alright by you guys. :) 
> 
> As always, if you liked or enjoyed this fic, you should know what to do. **Comment/Kudos/Bookmarks** are always appreciated by this author. :) 
> 
> If you have a prompt or an idea, you can [INSPIRE ME](http://arh581958.tumblr.com/submit) on tumblr. Or [TALK TO ME](http://arh581958.tumblr.com/ask).


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